5 NBA players who can make a leap by cutting down on turnovers
The center who can get to the next level by cutting their turnovers: Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had the best season of his young career in 2022-23. He set career highs in effective field goal percentage, points per game, rebounds per game, free throws per game, and won the Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson is a bonafide star, but there is one aspect of his game that is holding him back from making a serious run at an All-NBA spot, and it’s his turnovers.
Last season, Jackson committed 107 turnovers and only chipped in 60 assists. He lost the most expected points from his assist-to-turnover ratio of any player in the league (minus-108.4 points), and on a per-36-minute basis, he was the seventh-worst center (minus-2.18 points per 36 minutes) behind a cohort of backups. Centers, unsurprisingly, were the worst position group in this regard, but Jackson grading out this poorly is surprising considering his on-ball talent is well above the average center.
The easiest path for Jackson to reign in his turnovers is to cut down on his offensive fouls. His 38 offensive fouls ranked seventh in the league and are completely within his control. Centers operate in the tightest confines, so lost ball and bad pass turnovers will always be a part of the trade, but for a player who averaged less than an assist per game (0.95), 28 bad pass turnovers are ghastly.
While Jackson needs to cut down on the turnovers, any boost in passing could also go a long way. Asking a player to average two assists per game is not a tall task, and it would have dragged him much closer to average, even if it came with more turnovers. The cost of Jackson’s poor ball security and passing is not negligible. His excellent positional scoring is largely negated, if not entirely erased, by his inability to take care of the ball.
The Memphis Grizzlies will be without Ja Morant for the first 25 games, and it offers Jackson an excellent opportunity to get more on-ball reps. Even if he sinks instead of swimming, it should prepare him to be more careful with the ball when Morant returns, and his offensive role is again simplified. The Grizzlies are a burgeoning giant in the West, and Jackson cutting down on turnovers could be the small unseen push they need to get over the top.