Former Defensive Player of the Year Downgraded vs. 76ers
On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers are set to welcome the Memphis Grizzlies into the Wells Fargo Center, as they return home from a short two game road trip.
They went into Tuesday night's match against the Brooklyn Nets shorthanded, as their leading scorer Tyrese Maxey was sidelined due to a concussion following a collision with the Dallas Mavericks' Derrick Jones Jr. on Sunday afternoon.
The Sixers would certainly miss Maxey's season average of 26 points per game as the Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith would come alive in the second half and help sneak the Nets to the victory, with the partnership combining for 40 points.
While Maxey was out, he wasn't the only omission as De'Anthony Melton was sidelined from the match due to back issues which popped up again following a short-lived return to the court earlier on in the month.
It's no mystery that Melton is known to be more of a defensive player, recording 15 games of having multiple steals, as well as successfully blocking 16 shots in the season so far.
The Sixers' are set to miss out on Melton and his defensive capabilities on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, who are also running the possibility of being without their defensive leader.
Former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr has been downgraded to questionable for Wednesday night's action due to tendinitis in his right quad, which has kept him out of action since the beginning of the month.
Given that the Grizzlies have been without Ja Morant for a sizeable chunk of the season, at first due to suspension, and now due to a season ending injury, Jackson has found himself to be more of a scoring option for Taylor Jenkins' side, averaging a career-high 22 points per game on 44 percent shooting.
Granted, this has come at a cost, as the two-time first All-Defensive team member has only averaged 1.5 blocks per game, which is perfectly halved from what he was doing last season. Elsewhere on the court, the New Jersey native is averaging five rebounds, four of which are defensive, as well as one steal per game.
Jackson isn't the only member of Memphis' lineup to be downgraded against Philadelphia, as former Boston Celtic Marcus Smart is set to miss the match due to a tear in his right ring finger, and Yuta Watanabe is out due to a sprain in his right wrist.
The Sixers are set to take on the Grizzlies on Wednesday night, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.
