Is this the year the Grizzlies get over the 3-point shooting hump?
By Mike Parrott
It’s the same old question for the Memphis Grizzlies: can we shoot yet? Finally, after what’s seemed decades, the Grizzlies may actually be able to shoot the long-ball.
It’s been hard to watch the Grizzlies play in the new era of pace and space basketball while they stuck to old school post-up bigs in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, grinded out results and kept making the playoffs without making noise. But this year’s offseason brings hope for the organization and fans across the globe that they might be respected from beyond the arc.
Over The Years
It’s been tough time for floor spacing in Memphis. As seen on ESPN’s stat pages, Memphis haven’t cracked the top 20 in 3-point percentage in over five years, and the highest 3-point makes they’ve made in that time was last season, when they averaged 6.1 makes a game, good for 27th in the league.
From an optimist’s standpoint, it makes sense for Memphis to not prioritize 3-point shooting. Its had two of the best post-up players in the game in Randolph and Gasol, and its wing positions have normally been loaded by defenders such as Tony Allen and Matt Barnes.
But as we’ve seen over the years, relying on post-ups and defense doesn’t take you far enough for a franchise that has never won a ring. Especially when your team’s age, and particularly your star player in Gasol, are on a steady decline.
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New Look
Could all this be changing this season? Memphis have gone to the shop this offseason and picked up some crafty shooters to hopefully bolster their shooting woes.
In the draft, they fell upon Wade Baldwin IV, a good shooter who averaged just over 40 percent on 3-point attempts at Vanderbilt University. But the draft wasn’t where they picked up their new shooting, it was in free agency.
The return of Mike Conley kept some of the shooting in check. He averaged 36 percent from beyond the arc on just over 200 attempts, however the acquisitions of Chandler Parsons, Troy Daniels and Wayne Selden give these Grizzlies a much needed boost with shooting.
Starting with the max-contract man himself, Parsons has always been known as a good shooter of the ball, averaging 38 percent from 3 for his career and just averaged over 40 percent last season. Also, in terms of advanced stats, Parsons averaged 42 percent on catch and shoot opportunities. Look to see Memphis get that much needed spacing on the wing and even at the power forward slot — which Parsons can play in small ball rotations.
When it comes to shooting, though, Daniels is the man you want. Coming off a league-leading percentage of 47.2 percent, Daniels is what Memphis has craved for years. Even though he only played 43 games last season, Daniels’ specialty of hitting wide open 3s will be invaluable to the Grizzlies this season.
Will It Happen?
After an underrated offseason, Memphis looks like a dangerous team now. If the health of its stars keeps up, look out for the Grizzlies to be an above-average team offensively with a formidable inside-out game.
When we compare the per 36 minutes between the 15 players with the highest minutes for Memphis last year (28 players didn’t make this comparison fair) against the proposed rotation for next season, the new team outguns last season’s team by 3.5 extra 3s made per game, which would put them 18th in 3s made a game last season.
They aren’t the mid 2000’s Phoenix Suns with their shooting yet, but watch out for Memphis to finally the crack the top 20 in 3-point shooting.