MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES SCOREKEEPER POSTING FRAUDULENT NUMBERS FOR DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR LEADER JAREN JACKSON JR.
I would like to bring to your attention the scorekeeper of the Memphis Grizzlies. 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.
I decided to take a closer look at his games and IMMEDIATELY 1 thing became crystal clear. At home in Memphis he has 66 blocks in 16 home games, averaging 4.13 blocks per game, versus just 35 in 16 road games, averaging 2.19 in nearly identical minutes- an 89% increase in Memphis. In home games he has been credited with 22 steals in 16 home games, versus only 10 steals in 16 road games. This means he is averaging nearly 1.4 steals per game at home, but just 0.63 steals on the road per game- an astounding 120% increase in Memphis. In home games he has been credited with 88 blocks + steals, versus 45 on the road. This equates to an average of an outlandish 5.5 blocks+steals at home in limited minutes versus a reasonable and realistic, and still outstanding, 2.81 steals+blocks per game on the road. This equates to a 1.96X home stat increase only in these 2 categories. A 96% increase in performance specifically at home is truly an aberration which should be reviewed. This demonstrates the sort of incredulous statistics which calls for serious analysis.
Just 3 out of his 14 games this season with 5+ blocks+steals have come on the road. 8 out of 9 of his 6+ steals+blocks games have been recorded in Memphis. I decided to watch 2 memphis grizzlies games where he had one of his ludicrous 8+ blocks+steals games. By my count he actually had 3 fewer "stocks"(some people refer to steals+blocks as stocks) than he was credited for by the home scorekeeper. I wonder if the scorekeeper has some sort of vested interest in Jaren Jackson getting maximum high value defensive statistics that he thinks he can get away with putting down into the box score.
Jaren Jackson in July - mid November started as high as +10,000 for DPOY at certain sportsbooks after the Grizzlies announced he had undergone a procedure to address a stress fracture in his right foot and would be sidelined for 4-6 months. Now, in large part thanks to these blatantly wrong statistics, he is a huge odds on favorite at higher than -200.
I conducted some analysis on all 78 games jaren jackson played last season... my hypothesis was that his home/road difference on steals & blocks would both be small. He had 90 blocks in Memphis and 87 blocks on the road. He had 39 steals in Memphis and 34 steals on the road. He had 129 "stocks" in Memphis vs. 121 "stocks" on the road. BPG was actually 12.7% lower on the road(he played 4 fewer home games) while steals+blocks/game was 15% lower on the road- higher than i expected, but reasonable given all the differences for Memphis when playing at home vs on the road, from their home/away record difference to crowd noise to effort/energy/intensity exerted by players, etc. 90%+ higher in Memphis, however, as is the case this season, is NOT REASONABLE AND COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC. My educated guess is that the Memphis scorekeeper(s) have been changed since last season and/or ULTERIOR MOTIVES, INCENTIVES are now in play with respect to JJJ's defensive statistics.
Why is this happening so blatantly to the point where a person can just look at Jaren Jackson Jrs. steals+blocks #s on the box score and determine with a high level of confidence whether that game was played on the road or in Memphis is the next question...
Three potential explanations, only one of which is innocent:
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Jaren Jackson plays MUCH MUCH MUCH harder at home and hustles like a maniac and focuses on stealing and blocking shots like crazy in Memphis, causing his numbers to be skewed in an absurd manner even compared to his regular highly efficient top 3- but realistic, road numbers. This can almost certainly be discounted because i looked at his other statistics and everything from his minutes per game to points per game to rebounds per game and even fouls are close in terms of home/away splits.
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The Memphis scorekeeper is a huge Jaren Jackson Jr. fan and is purposely imbellishing his steals & blocks, since that is much easier to do than points or rebounds, for instance. When he contests a shot well, but does not touch the ball, perhaps the scorekeeper purposely gives him the undeserved stat and donates blocks to him where none occurred, for instance.
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It should also be investigated in this age of fantasy basketball and gambling on sports whether this scorekeeper and/or his family and friends bet on Jaren Jackson to win the defensive player of the year award at super long odds and as a result has a tremendous financial incentive to juice and fake a player's 2 most valuable defensive statistics- BLOCKS and STEALS, which are also the easiest to fudge #s on because it is often most difficult to definitively label steals and blocks without slow motion on at least some of the plays in question.
I and all NBA fans would appreciate a thorough investigation into this matter. It is important to have 100% integrity in statistics not only for things such as fantasy sports, sportsbetting, futures wagers, but even more importantly to ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME FOR ALL. This is mandatory to be able to compare players' statistics versus other players now in the league fairly as well as across seasons and know the numbers are accurate, correct, and not unfairly manipulated by home arena scorekeepers.
I decided to watch just a few of the Grizzlies' recent games and immediately started noticing a pattern: Plays at FedEx arena in Memphis constantly being scored wrongly to gift Jackson extra steals and blocks which never occurred. Simply put, if a shot does not hit the rim or it otherwise looks bad somehow, and Jaren Jackson is either contesting the shot or close to the action, he is credited with FRAUDULENT blocks repeatedly. Sometimes this is achieved by taking away the stat from his teammates. Other times, an opposing player simply loses the ball or shoots a contested shot way off target, but Jackson nevertheless is credited with steals & blocks that never occurred in both instances. Also, when he deflects a ball and it goes to a teammate he is credited with the steal. When his teammate deflects the ball and it goes to him he is STILL credited with the steal IN MEMPHIS. When he tips or deflects a ball, but never gains possession nor do the Grizzlies, he is still awarded a steal.
The following is just a very small % of questionable or outright WRONG steals and blocks given to Jackson:
Example #1 New Orleans Pelicans @ Memphis Grizzlies Saturday 12/31 7mins, 21 sec remaining in the 2nd quarter Zion drives to the basket, NEVER shoots the ball, and loses it. "Williamson in a crowd, ball pops free, picked up by Tyus Jones, turnover number 9 by the pelicans" announcers say. Scorekeeper in Memphis graded the play as Jaren Jackson Jr. blocks Zion Williamson's 3-foot driving layup
Example #2 Utah Jazz @ Memphis Grizzlies Sunday 1/8 10:09 remaining in the 1st quarter Jordan Clarkson throws a bad pass directly to Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson for some odd reason is credited with the steal. Bane actually steals the ball.
Example #3 Utah Jazz @ Memphis Grizzlies Sunday 1/8 1:46 remaining in the 4th quarter Kelly Olynyk loses the ball while being defended by Xavier Tillman. The ball then bounces off Tillman and Jaren Jackson before being picked up by Tillman. The steal should be credited to Tillman. Memphis scorekeeper grades the play as Jaren Jackson Jr. steals
Example #4 Phoenix Suns @ Memphis Grizzlies Monday 1/16 7:02 remaining in the 4th quarter Brandon Clarke blocks Saban Lee's layup, but the Memphis scorekeeper instantly gives the block to nearby Jaren Jackson Jr.
Example #5 Cleveland Cavaliers @ Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday 1/18 11:48 remaining in the 2nd quarter Lamar Stevens, who Jaren Jackson helps on, loses the ball and Desmond Bane picks it up and gains possession. The Memphis scorekeeper gave steal to Jaren Jackson.
Example #6 Detroit Pistons @ Memphis Grizzlies Friday, December 9th 39 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter Jackson deflects a pass and never gains possession, saved back to Detroit player. Memphis scorekeeper gives a steal to Jackson.
Example #7 Oklahoma City Thunder @ Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday, December 7th 10:38 4th quarter Jackson saves out of bounds ball directly to Thunder player underneath basket for quick score, but gets credited with a steal.
Thank you very much for reading this. I would appreciate well thought out responses, a good discussion, and also advice on how someone in charge at the NBA can investigate these plays as well as others from Grizzlies games, and the dishonest Memphis scorekeeper. Also, can obviously fraudulent statistics be deleted, corrected & reversed weeks/months later?