The Memphis Grizzlies and their fans were the real winners of the Team USA-Spain exhibition game that took place over the weekend. Yes, Team USA won 98-88, but the biggest takeaway for fans of the bears of Beale Street should be how their two international representatives in the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup played in the contest. Both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama did various things that should lead to daydreaming for this coming Fall and Winter and what is possible for the squad with two such versatile and talented bigs destined to share the court some this coming season.
Santi is surprising
The biggest shock perhaps of the entire build-up to the tournament to this point is just how impactful Santi Aldama has been for Spain. No, the actual FIBA World Cup has not yet begun, and yes a smaller sample size is needed. But to this point, you can fairly easily argue that Santi has been Spain’s best player – especially offensively.
Santi has put on display a growing ability to impact the game in ways beyond just scoring. So while Aldama “only” posted 14 points off the bench for Team Spain against the Americans, how he did it compared with a growing body of international work is worth taking note of.
Across both the Slovenia and US games, Aldama is displaying an increasing comfort scoring in a variety of ways. Off the dribble, in catch and shoot opportunities, down low or on the perimeter – across all levels of offensive basketball Santi’s game is evolving. His frame as a nearly 7 foot tall perimeter big can create all sorts of mismatches – much like Jaren Jackson Jr. – and his handle and vision improving can only mean more scoring chances not just for Santi himself, but for his teammates as well.
Spain will desperately need Aldama to continue to expand his role for their roster in order to eventually win in such a tournament. The good news is, Santi seems up to the challenge – at least heading in to the event.
The future for Jaren is now?
It’s no secret that many Grizzlies fans and thinkers believe that Jaren Jackson Jr.’s final form is that of NBA center. So when it was announced that Jaren would be the starting “5” for Team USA, there was much rejoicing. For while Jackson Jr. surely must get a bit outside of his current comfort zone in order to achieve in such a role, it doesn’t make the journey less worthy of completing.
And Jaren wasn’t perfect against Spain as a “5” – but he did show flashes.
Much like Aldama – and with much more NBA-based evidence to back up the theory – Jackson Jr. is a walking mismatch. True bigs cannot hang with Jaren on the perimeter and off the dribber. Stretch fours and bigger combo forwards cannot contend with JJJ’s size. That reality becomes more of a factor for Jaren when he plays as a team’s true big man. Very few can match Jackson Jr. in terms of athleticism and size. Because of that, the holes in the hope (rebounding, screening) get negated by the potential for domination offensively.
Steven Adams returning for Memphis enables Jaren to not have to be that guy for the Grizzlies. That’s a good thing – Adams is still an elite screen setter and rebounder, so why force the hand of JJJ and make him be something perhaps he’s not ready to be? But one of the end results that is possible coming out of Jaren’s FIBA experience is maybe Jackson Jr. can be that guy sooner rather than later.
And if that’s the case, maybe Steven Adams can step back in to a reserve role in the months and years ahead. There’s a long ways to go before that becomes reality. But this is a fun test run for what may eventually be.
Both Jaren and Santi will be significant pieces of their respective rosters and their hopes for international glory. So while NBA basketball may still be a ways off, Grizzlies fans in Memphis and abroad can enjoy watching these two talented young bigs and think of what might be as the seasons turn and the eyes of the hoop world turn from FIBA play to the National Basketball Association.