2017 Orlando Magic Draft Preview: Who is Josh Jackson?

The Bad

The biggest knock against Josh Jackson is undoubtedly his shooting.

Jackson is not a bad shooter by any means, but his 3-point shot is very inconsistent. He shot 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. More alarmingly, he shot 56.6 percent from the foul line. Typically a poor free throw percentage suggests a player who is going to struggle to translate to the NBA 3-point line.

There are legitimate concerns about Jackson’s translating with his shot.

Jackson’s shooting would come and go. But he finished the season on a major high. In the last 17 games of the season, Jackson averaged 17.6 points per game and hit on 48.1 percent of his 3-pointers. He can indeed hit the three. But it should be noted his free throw shooting still hovered at worse than 60 percent.

That free throw shooting is also a major weakness. Especially if he is not going to be able to shoot from the outside consistently. If he is going to be a mid-range player or driver, getting to the foul line is absolutely critical to creating efficiency.

That will be among the big questions for Jackson.

His questionable shooting from the outside will also bring his position into play.

While Jackson has the positional versatility to play either forward position, he largely played power forward at the collegiate level. There, his shooting was somewhat hidden by keeping him closer to the basket. That also gave him a distinct athletic advantage over many of his opponents.

That advantage goes away when he plays small forward. He has the athleticism and defensive skill to keep up, but he could find himself having trouble attacking the basket offensively at that position. Especially considering his shooting inconsistency.

Jackson is listed at 6-foot-8, so he may not quite have the size to play power forward full time. Although, the league is trending smaller. So maybe this is the right moment for Jackson to begin his career.