Jackson shows off his defense

Team hopes his effort contagious

In his first summer-league practice, Josh Jackson on Tuesday set up near the baseline to defend secondround draft pick Davon Reed.

In an instant, Reed bolted to the top of the key. Center Chris Obekpa set a screen near the free-throw line, but Jackson darted past it and was in defensive position as Reed caught the basketball up top.

Obekpa rushed over and set a ball screen on Jackson’s right, but the Suns rookie forward fought over it, recovering in time to contest Reed’s 3-point shot that was off the mark.

NBA summer leagues are underway in Orlando and Salt Lake City. No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz of Philadelphia and No. 3 selection Jayson Tatum of Boston already have opened with strong performances. Jackson, the fourth overall pick, gets his chance Friday in Las Vegas, and this is the type of defensive effort the Suns expect. Determined. Relentless. And hopefully, contagious. “One of (our) goals for him is him being the X factor,” Suns summer league coach Marlon Garnett said. “He’ll take on a leadership role. Obviously, he’s one of our high picks. We have good expectation for him, but it’s not like we’re going to try and put pressure on him. We kind of want to let him get a feel for it, get his feet wet. I think he’ll be just fine.”

While there’s not much at stake during summer league, it’s a mistake to think it doesn’t matter. Near the end of Tuesday’s session, coach Earl Watson had harsh words for what appeared to be a starting unit of Jackson, point guard Mike James, wing Derrick Jones Jr. and forwards Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss. He wanted them to compete.

They responded.