Jaren Jackson Jr. reveals the ‘1 thing’ that cost Grizzlies in Berlin

The Berlin setting was grand, but the ending felt all too familiar for the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first of two NBA Europe events, Tuomas Iisalo’s squad squandered a 20-point lead against the Orlando Magic, wasting a dominant first from Jaren Jackson Jr. and exposing late-game issues that traveled just as far as the team did.

Jackson Jr. finished with 30 points, two blocks, and two steals, anchoring the Grizzlies to start the night. Yet his final stat line also told a more complicated story. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year grabbed just three rebounds, none on the offensive glass, handed out one assist, and committed four turnovers. In a second half that swung sharply, Jackson Jr. went 3-for-9, picked up an offensive foul, and turned the ball over twice as the offense unraveled.

A decisive stretch with just a couple of minutes left told the story. The Grizzlies did not score on their final possessions, and Jackson Jr. did not touch the ball after the 2:32 mark of the fourth quarter. That final possession began with Jackson Jr. standing in the corner, a design choice that symbolized how the offense stagnates in the clutch. Afterward, the former All-Star did not deflect responsibility.

“Everyone is capable of making a play late,” the big man stressed, “but I need to be more assertive in coming to get the ball. I think there were times when they were denying me (the ball). It’s hard. If you look at me and think I’m open for a second, then try to do something else, but I might not be open again. Then we’ve got the shot clock too, so I think there are a lot of factors that go into it, but their pressure sped us up a little bit. That’s one thing that we just needed to be more mindful of (late in the game).”

The collapse marked an inauspicious start to the two-game European swing, the first of two NBA Europe events this season. The Grizzlies will look to rebound Sunday in London, but questions linger about the team’s ability to maintain leads and execute down the stretch without relying on their best player.

Jackson Jr. acknowledged the mental challenge of maintaining focus after a grueling week was partly ruined by NBA Trade Deadline rumors.

“You want to come out of (Europe) with a win. It’s obviously been a long week, but at the end of the day, when the game starts, that’s like all we think about,” explained Jackson Jr. “It’s Xs and Os. It’s about playing hard and doing what we’ve practiced, so I think that is always going to trump how you are feeling about anything, is how you are feeling about the game. We just want to get a better result in London.”

For Iisalo, the challenge is balancing trust in young perimeter players with the necessity of running offense through his star. For Jackson Jr., it is about demanding the ball, even when defenses deny, and the clock tightens. In Berlin, those two threads never fully aligned. The result was a collapse that overshadowed much of what Memphis did well and left the Grizzlies searching for answers, again.

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