Warriors have ‘no one’ to guard JJJ, Brooks believes originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Jaren Jackson Jr. has been a thorn in the side of the Warriors all series long.
Even before the Memphis Grizzlies lost Ja Morant for the remainder of the Western Conference semifinal series, Jackson kept pace with every other star on the court. Without Morant, Jackson has stepped up as the Grizzlies’ No. 1 option and Golden State appears to have no answer.
In the Grizzlies’ 134-95 blowout win over the Warriors in Game 5 on Wednesday night at FedExForum, Jackson, along with three other Grizzlies, scored 21 points in the route of Golden State. Jackson has scored totals of 33, 12, 15, 21 and 21 points in each of the five games this series.
After the game, Grizzlies teammate Dillon Brooks praised Jackson for his dominance on the court.
“He’s the key,” Brooks told reporters after the game. “They got no one to guard him. No one to stop him. He needs to keep demanding the ball. The Warriors are going to have to adjust and double team him soon, and he’s going to have to learn how to pass the ball out to get his teammates shots, and that’s what he needs to do. I try to tell him to stay aggressive, and you’re a walking mismatch out there for every single player that guards you. So just keep attacking.”
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Brooks isn’t far off by any means, Jackson really has been that dominant and the Warriors have struggled mightily to contain the six-foot-11 22-year-old.
With the series heading back to Chase Center for Game 6, the Warriors must devise a new plan to stop Jackson and the scrappy Grizzlies, who will be looking to force a winner-take-all Game 7 at home.
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