Is Josh Jackson the most important player on this team?

sasquatchBob · Post #1 » by **sasquatchBob** » Sat Feb 9, 2019 8:42 pm

Doesn't it feel like he's the leader of this team? When you look at him playing, it seems like he cares the most. He always plays with heart and communicates with teammates. I'm not writing this take anything away from Booker because I think he's amazing at what he does, but let's be honest, Booker is limited (and possibly injury prone). If Josh Jackson puts it together we will have a player that can do it all. As of right now he's super athletic, good defender, good ball handler and unselfish. He has shown flashes of being able to score and I believe that if he gains more weight and strength he will become much more consistent in this area too. The only supposed problem is his shot, but I can already see improvements in his shooting. Jackson is not the only player on our team that is this talented. Deandre Ayton is too and maybe even more, but so far it seems like he just does not posses the killer instinct.

What do you guys think? Who is the most important player on Suns when looking into future?

Post #2 » by **bwgood77** » Sat Feb 9, 2019 9:05 pm

In general, it's a tough question to answer. Who is the most important player on the team is up for grabs.

Though right now it's Booker obviously considering he is the max guy and taking it on to be the "most important player".

With Ayton, he SHOULD be, but the problem with a C, you HAVE to be a defensive monster to be the most important, OR be a great distributor who runs the offense (like Jokic, which is extremely rare)...OR, if you are the #1 option, most of the stud C's in seasons past had guards getting the ball to them.

Booker, Jackson, Oubre, etc, they want to do too much themselves to get it to Ayton too much, so in this day and age and with our current players, if Ayton's really going to take over on offense, he needs to:

Set really hard screens and roll really hard to basket
Keep moving and establishing position in the post so players can see him open
If he can develop a 3 he can really be threat both up top and down low so he will be harder to sit on in the post and can get better looks no matter where he is and touch the ball a lot more, as well as open up the lane for slashers.

Or maybe Zion will be the most important.

SuperSunsFan · Post #3 » by **SuperSunsFan** » Sat Feb 9, 2019 9:24 pm

The biggest problem we are facing is in terms of team building is that only one of the trio of Mikal, JJ and Oubre can be in the starting lineup. eventually when we get our starting PG and PF line up would be:

Future Point guard
Booker
(Mikal, JJ or Oubre)
PF
Ayton.

JJ and Oubre will each demand 10+ mill per year and that is not the salary you want to spent on a bench player, and we haven't even get to TJ yet, this team is so unbalanced it is almost comical.

HiddenLeaf 44 · Post #4 » by **HiddenLeaf 44** » Sat Feb 9, 2019 9:37 pm

In a sense I think you might be right about Jackson.

Jackson’s has a much lower floor than Ayton/Booker/Bridges but I think he has just as much potential. If Jackson continues to develop we are going to have a scary team in a couple of years.

Cutter · Post #5 » by **Cutter** » Sat Feb 9, 2019 11:51 pm

I have gone from an anti-Jackson, trade him for a bag of doughnuts stance, to a neutral stance on him. He has improved over the last several games (even the haters should see that) and I am seeing fleeting glimpses of potential. However he has miles of improvement ahead of him, plus becoming much more consistent, to be even in the conversation for leader of the team.

Barkley6 · Post #6 » by **Barkley6** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:47 am

The biggest thing that I see lacking from JJ is he doesn't have a go to offensive move or shot. In fact, I dont know that I've ever seen him hit the same shot twice. Its why he can score 18 one night and 5 the next night. If he can work out a more consistent game on offense I think he could be a major asset for this team.

HiddenLeaf 44 · Post #7 » by **HiddenLeaf 44** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:51 am

Barkley6 wrote:The biggest thing that I see lacking from JJ is he doesn't have a go to offensive move or shot. In fact, I dont know that I've ever seen him hit the same shot twice. Its why he can score 18 one night and 5 the next night. If he can work out a more consistent game on offense I think he could be a major asset for this team.

So far his go to move is getting past defenders with his crazy speed. He needs to improve his efficiency at the basket.

TheLogician · Post #8 » by **TheLogician** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:54 am

He's playing great in place of TJ. I'm hoping for a big jump next year. He's capable of being at least a good glue guy so that's pretty valuable.

caltab · Post #9 » by **caltab** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:47 am

I love his passion and emotion. While it can get the best of him at times, it’s refreshing to see a Suns player hate to lose. A lot of people said he would be the best player in the draft in 5 years back when he was drafted, I really think he was written off way too soon. He shows incredible playmaker flashes and just needs to get more consistent. I would hate to see him get there on another team.

Young gun 6 · Post #10 » by **Young gun 6** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:09 am

I think ironically what I’ve seen is that TJ Warren even with great efficiency and stats contributed very very little to winning.

It’s hard to have 2 turnstiles (Warren, Booker) and 2 average at best (Okobo, Ayton) defenders in the starting lineup.

We haven’t been winning but we’ve actually looked a lot better with Jackson in place of Warren in the starting lineup.

Post #11 » by **Qwigglez** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:21 am

He can very well be the heart of the team. Very much needed, since Booker seems to have a short temper these days and expects his teammates to pick up the slack. I noticed his FT mechanics looking a little smoother lately, which is a good sign. In January he shot 73% from the line.

WeekapaugGroove · Post #12 » by **WeekapaugGroove** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 3:22 pm

Qwigglez wrote:He can very well be the heart of the team. Very much needed, since Booker seems to have a short temper these days and expects his teammates to pick up the slack. I noticed his FT mechanics looking a little smoother lately, which is a good sign. In January he shot 73% from the line.

FT shooting is a huge stat for him. The better his form looks at the line should coorilate with him shooting better in general. Also his game is one that can draw fouls but that only matters if he can actually hit them. And I wonder if it leads to a little better finishing because when he was struggling from the line he might have been rushing up some of the bad shots trying to not get fouled.

I've been a critic of him but he's playing well right now. Now we just need to see consistently.

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Barkley6 · Post #13 » by **Barkley6** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 3:38 pm

HiddenLeaf 44 wrote:
Barkley6 wrote:The biggest thing that I see lacking from JJ is he doesn't have a go to offensive move or shot. In fact, I dont know that I've ever seen him hit the same shot twice. Its why he can score 18 one night and 5 the next night. If he can work out a more consistent game on offense I think he could be a major asset for this team.

So far his go to move is getting past defenders with his crazy speed. He needs to improve his efficiency at the basket.

Athleticism isn't a move. Only guys like Shawn Marion can really be great in the NBA without some kind of go to offense. JJ isn't a knockdown shooter, he doesn't create space off the dribble and yes he can blow by people, but what happens when he meets a smart defender that will sag off or who is just as athletic? It's not a recipe for consistency. It also showed in the Summer League as he was depended on to be a primary scorer and COULD NOT do it. At all. Because he didn't have any kind of structure to his offensive game.

I like JJ a lot and think he can be great, but he really needs to think this offseason about carving out an offensive niche beyond just "I'm crazy athletic."

Kuwolves12 · Post #14 » by **Kuwolves12** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:09 pm

I do believe that he is the most important player on the team but not just from a scoring standpoint. I see JJ at his best as a legit triple double threat every game. He’s probably the best passer on the team and has the tools to be a shut down defender. Would love to see him become a Scottie Pippen type guy, 16-6-6, a steal or two and play good defense. Obviously he needs to stop the high turnover rate but I think it’s possible. Booker and AYton can score but we desperately need a glue guy who can do it all

AtheJ415 · Post #15 » by **AtheJ415** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:01 pm

He's the most important in the sense of he's the swing player, partly due to the fact that he's the most inconsistent, and given we have 4 consistent performers, having him play well gives us a real starting 5. He's also the top 5 pick who has the most potential and has not done what we expected (no offense to Bender, but he was always seen as a potentially elite role player, and Jackson always seen as potentially much more). I think he's the swing player on our roster. What we can or can't do and the extent of the rebuild remaining lies more on him than others, because when he makes some small adjustments to his game (finishing around the hoop, not chucking, cutting down on turnovers), he's damn good.

DirtyDez · Post #16 » by **DirtyDez** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:41 pm

He needs to watch film of Ben Simmons shot selection.

Biff · Post #17 » by **Biff** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:15 pm

He just turned 22 today. Statistically he has regressed from last year. I don't see it at all. We screwed up big time taking him over Fox. Pretty ironic considering how badly we need a PG and have a major glut of average wings.

LukasBMW · Post #18 » by **LukasBMW** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:20 pm

He's started playing more under control. He's also realized that going at full speed all the time is not the best way to play. He's also started playing smarter.

If he keeps this up, then he will be a very good player.

He was putting too much pressure on himself before.

Unlike Archie and Chriss, he at least seems willing to learn and work on things to get better. That gives me hope.

Post #19 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:02 am

I think a case can certainly be made for it. We already know what Ayton is good at giving us and that's a fairly reliable 16/10 on good efficiency and likewise with Booker. What we don't have consistency from and is a real X-Factor in a lot of games is Jackson. If he's efficient in scoring, getting guys involved and playing strong D, he's usually the one that's leading our inevitable double-digit comeback.

sunsbum · Post #20 » by **sunsbum** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:18 am

when I see josh jackson I see a dude not one person in the NBA can stay in front of. He is going to be a nightmare once he starts hitting his shots consistently and from the amount of improvement I've seen thats going to be sooner rather than later. I don't know if hes the most important player on the team but I think his development will be the key to whether the suns end up being a middle of the pack playoff team like the grizzlies or a legit contender.