Sixers Draft: Making the case for Josh Jackson
Fultz and Ball are gone. The Sixers have options with the 3rd overall selection. Using the playoffs as their guide, it might be wise to think BIG and pick Josh Jackson.
The Sixers enter this off-season with glaring needs at both guard positions. University of Kentucky stars De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk are surely enticing options for a team that relied heavily on TJ McConnell last season to run the offense. An offense, that in fact finished dead last in the league in efficiency. So shouldn’t drafting an explosive guard be a no-brainer?
Not quite.
Former Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly said it best back in 2013, “Bigger people beat up little people”. Of course, he was referring to a football roster, but the same logic still applies in the NBA.
The NBA Finals have historically been dominated by big people. Yeah, duh, it’s the NBA, they’re ALL big people. But let’s take a look at the Finals MVP winners. You have to go all the way back to Tony Parker in 2007 to find a winner who was shorter than 6’6″.
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That trend should continue as Kevin Durant or LeBron James are projected to take the crown this year. With the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Giannis Antetokounmpo coming into their primes, big is certainly IN. Bigger people beat up little people. Bigger people win games.
The playoffs have certainly confirmed this notion. We watched as one by one, the “little people” were eliminated. But it’s not just that they were eliminated, it was the way they were eliminated that should be noted.
Guards like Russell Westbrook and John Wall were visibly exhausted at the end of games. Lowry and Thomas couldn’t even finish their series due to injuries. Even the 6’5″ James Harden couldn’t find a way to get it going when the bigger Kawhi Leonard was defending him.
In the playoffs, referees tend to swallow the whistle, not wanting to disrupt game-flow. Guys have to fight harder to get through screens and scorers don’t get the same foul calls they are accustomed to getting in the regular season. This makes life miserable for the “little people” and their bodies just can’t hold up. It’s extremely difficult to win playoff games relying on smaller guards to get it done.
Bottom line is, the NBA is turning into a super scary, alien infested sport where near-7 footers are pulling up from 30+ feet regularly. The key to winning in this league?… finding aliens of your own to stop them.
Enter Josh Jackson.
Standing at 6 feet 8 inches and almost 210 pounds, Kansas freshman Josh Jackson certainly falls under the “bigger people” category. Combine his size with hyper athleticism and you have your alien. Now, the Sixers have plenty of aliens already on their roster after drafting guys like Embiid, Saric, and Simmons. All three are 6’10” or bigger and this could make for a crowded front-court if the Sixers select Jackson.
That shouldn’t matter.
If the Sixers hope to be playing basketball into May and beyond, they should ignore position of need and continue to invest in size and talent, especially with the 3rd overall pick. With his aforementioned size and athleticism, Josh Jackson has the potential to grow into a player that can defend 4 positions defensively, an invaluable trait in today’s game. Teams like the Warriors and Spurs have so much defensive flexibility simply because of Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard’s presence.
Remember, defense still wins championships.
But what about that awful Sixers offense you mentioned earlier?!
Turns out, Jackson is pretty good at that too. Here’s how he compares to his draft counterparts in Effective Field Goal percentage/3 point FG percentage.
- Josh Jackson – 55%/38%
- Malik Monk – 54%/40%
- Dennis Smith Jr.– 52%/36%
- Jayson Tatum – 51%/34%
- De’Aaron Fox – 49%/25%
Josh Jackson averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and 1.5 blocks per 40 minutes. He was truly a do-it-all player for Kansas and as he continues to refine his game, the Sixers could end up with the best player in the entire draft.
Next: Sixers trying to break free agency drought
The Sixers have plenty of other picks as well as cap space to find serviceable guards this off-season. So forget about need, forget about how he will “fit” into the current roster. At no. 3 overall, the Sixers should focus on finding another alien. Josh Jackson could be their Extra-Terrestrial.