Jaren Jackson Jr Jan 25, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) reacts after a foul is called in favor of the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies are positioned as one of the top teams in the NBA this season and they’ve got the stats to prove it. However, according to one intrepid Reddit poster, there might be something up with some of those stats thanks to the home scorekeeper.

“I would like to bring to your attention the scorekeeper of the Memphis Grizzlies,” wrote Reddit user AdMassive6666 on the NBA Subreddit. “I was wondering how a solid defensive player can suddenly have some specific statistical categories that are completely off the charts.  I am referring to Jaren Jackson Jr., who, after having missed ~16 games to start the season due to off-season foot surgery immediately started having extreme outlier high steals + blocks statistics, leading the entire NBA in blocks per game by a wide margin.  In fewer minutes per game than other players Jaron Jackson repeatedly gets outlandish block numbers at home.”

According to the user’s number-crunching, when you look at Jackson’s stats at home, his numbers are off the charts compared to his stars on the road. While he has 66 blocks in 16 home games, he has just 35 in 16 road games. He also has 22 steals in Memphis and 10 elsewhere. When you add it all up, Jackson is performing 96% better at home in those stats than he is on the road.

The Redditor posits two potential reasons here. One, Jaren Jackson is simply motivated to play way harder and way better in Memphis than he is on the road. Two, the Memphis Grizzlies’ scorekeeper is perhaps favoring him when it comes to his steals and blocks, two stats that are potentially easier to inflate than points or rebounds.

Now, it’s worth noting this is merely speculation and there’s absolutely no proof that anything untoward is happening involving the Memphis Grizzlies scorekeeper. But it’s certainly an interesting statistical outlier that we hope someone will look into in order to figure it out.

[NBA Reddit]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.