Well, we got here quickly didn’t we?
After a truncated offseason that saw the draft lottery, the draft itself and free agency fly by like a no look from Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies are once again set to embark on another NBA season.
Safe to say there wasn’t a lot of study time after the bubble burst for the Grizz back in Orlando. But if any group was equipped to handle such a quick turn around and cram session, it’s this one.
Of course, that’s not by coincidence.
This front office has a type and have done a great job of finding several candidates to be the poster child for that type.
Y’all know what type I’m talking about: the sneaky-athletic, high-basketball-IQ, slight-chip-on-the-shoulder-but-not-a-total-a-hole type, also known as Brandon Clarke.
Clarke’s rookie season was about as memorable as any by a 21st pick in the history of the league.
Not only did he acquire the accolades (1st Team All-Rookie, Top 5 ROY, Rookie All-Star), he also passed all the eye tests on being a surefire member of this young Grizz core.
On the court, he averaged 12.1 points and 5.9 boards a game, but the numbers don’t tell it all. He became a calming influence in a very surprising 2nd unit, shooting nearly 62% percent from the floor.
Whenever Clarke stepped on the floor, good things happened and it was clear as day to see…the Grizz found a jewel!
So what’s next?
During our Grizzlies’ offseason study guide series, the guys have done a great job of finding multiple players for our young Grizz to model their games after.
But BC is a different kinda guy, so I decided on one particular player I’d like to see Clarke emulate his career after: Kawhi Leonard.
I get it, you’re probably like, “are we still doing the Grizz/Spurs comparisons?” and the answer is yes…yes we are.
Just like Leonard, there wasn’t much expected of Clarke on the offensive end coming out of college. After watching his first season in Memphis, you can definitely see the vague shape of a scoring stud.
No need for all the crossovers and fancy dribbles, just triple-threat position anywhere along the elbow extended, one or two dribble moves, and boom there’s a bucket, or at least a 65% chance of one.
Throw in the fact that his three-point shooting was around 36 percent on just one attempt per game and you can start to picture a 20 PPG scorer in the mix.
Maybe you read this and were offended that I’d even suggest that Brandon Clarke could be on the same level as Leonard.
Or maybe you did a double take at those highlights and realized what I’ve already accepted: once he figures it out, Grizzlies’ history has a chance to change after B.C.
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