Because JO needs to be aggressive and because he's a good but not great shot blocker he picks up these fouls. He relies on height to block shots instead of timing and footwork and because of this its, as _FAN has pointed out, its much easier for people to get into his body.
Right, JO picks up fouls because of his lackluster timing and footwork. That's my point. I'm sure he fouls with his body as much as he does his arms, but the point remains that poor footwork and timing will get any big man in trouble.
JO's aggression should be an attribute, ideally. But, in reality, it appears that his aggression too often results in silly fouls. Get to your spot, hold it, stay straight up. JO and Withey are maybe the only 2 legitimate 7'ers in the League. Use that height and wingspan and protect the rim. stop reaching. JO
could be a great shot blocker in this league. After his growth the past 2 seasons, I expected him to be great.
I don't think it's a coincidence that SO Gip has taken SR JO's minutes, playing 20mpg and 14 mpg, respectively. No reason a shot blocker like JO should have regressed back to the minutes he was playing as a SO. My take? He's playing undisciplined defense, reducing his minutes. B/c of his reduced minutes, he tries forcing shots in the offensive. It's a snowball effect.