Every NBA team’s biggest question mark for the 2021-22 season

Memphis Grizzlies: Can Jaren Jackson Jr break out?

Grizzlies officials desperately want to build their team around the star duo of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, Jr. To turn that dream into a plan, Memphis needs Jackson to have a breakout campaign this season.

The first step for Jackson is to stay healthy. He lost almost all of the 2020-21 season to injury. Even when he came back it was clear he wasn’t quite right. The hope is that a full offseason of regular work will prepare Jackson to have a special season.

If he can find a way to stay on the floor from a physical perspective, he also needs to dramatically cut his foul rate to stay on the floor for more minutes. That’s the lowest-hanging fruit for Jackson if he wants to become an above-average starter.

After that, Jackson needs to rediscover his touch from three-point land while adding more defensive rebounds to his game. Similar to Porzingis, he still has tantalizing potential as a stretch five. The Grizzlies need him to turn a lot of his potential into production this season to make giving him a big deal in the offseason an easy decision.