The most obvious obstacle holding Andre Jackson Jr. back during his three years with the Milwaukee Bucks has been his lack of offensive production. For most of the possessions he's been on the floor, the Bucks have played four-on-five offense. Over the final 10 games of Milwaukee's season, Jackson has an opportunity to prove he can be a contributor on offense.
Jackson's offense has always been a problem for Bucks
With so many players banged up, Doc Rivers has been forced to dig deep to just field a rotation lately, which has brought Jackson back to the light. Over his last two games, Jackson has logged 16 and 21 minutes of game action, and while there have been glimpses of potential sprinkled in, the lack of any reliable offense has stood out.
In his 16 minutes against the LA Clippers, Jackson attempted just one shot, a 3-pointer that he did make, to his credit. He got more aggressive against the Portland Trail Blazers, shooting the ball five times and getting six free throw attempts (he made three) to tally eight points. Jackson's main goal isn't to score, but the lack of production is standing out.
It's been that way from the jump. For his career, Jackson is averaging just 2.5 points on 2.2 shots per game. That included averaging 3.4 points on 2.9 shots when he started in 43 out of 67 matchups for Milwaukee last season. The days of having a defensive specialist stand in the corner on offense are nearing an end. In today's NBA, you have to play both sides of the ball.
Jackson has a lot riding on these final 10 games
Many were stunned that the Milwaukee Bucks cut ties with Cam Thomas to sign Pete Nance recently, sparing Andre Jackson Jr. from what felt like his inevitable fate. However, perhaps the Bucks feel like their 2023 draft pick had more upside than the score-first guard. Over the final 10 games, it will be up to Jackson to prove them right.
This final stretch could have major implications for his NBA future, as the guard has a team option on his contract for the summer. What the Milwaukee Bucks decide to do with that is still up for debate. A strong stretch of games, notably where he shows some promise offensively, could sway the higher-ups to keep him in town for another go-round.
The frustrating thing is that Jackson could be an excellent player if he found ways to score more. As he showed in these past two games, he's more than capable of helping elsewhere. He tallied six assists against the Clippers and four steals against Portland. If he could do those things while also not being a liability scoring-wise, there is no reason he couldn't be in the Bucks' rotation long-term.
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