At the NBA regular season’s midpoint, we are grading each Memphis Grizzlies player based on his performance and progress through the first half of the season. Today we grade JaMychal Green.
Mario Chalmers recalibrated his fearless play when he became a Grizzly earlier this season, and Jeff Green silenced his doubters with his recent uptick in performance, but perhaps no Memphis Grizzly has elevated his game this season more than JaMychal Green.
As noted on Beale Street Bears this summer, along with Jarnell Stokes and Jarell Martin, Green was one of three athletic young bigs at the end of the bench looking to carve out a spot in the Grizzlies’ frontcourt rotation. With the Grizzlies 2015 first-round draft pick Martin out of the picture following a fractured foot in early September, Green emerged as a reliable option off the bench and became something of a fan-favorite because of his relentless effort coupled with his propensity for energizing plays like crowd-stoking tip slams, two handed jams in traffic, and, the rarest of marvels of Grizzlies basketball, successful three point shots.
When Memphis stumbled out of the gates in late October, Green’s improved play off the bench provided one of the few encouraging signs of life in a listless opening segment of the season. Jamyke stepped up and played in every game in November, averaging 19.9 minutes, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.2 points per game for the month.
While Coach Dave Jeorger attempted to transition the Grizzlies towards quicker small-ball lineups, despite reduced minutes for Zach Randolph and the absence of the injured Brandan Wright, Jamychal Green inexplicably saw his minutes vanish. Over an 11-game stretch that spanned most of January and early February, Jamychal’s appearances diminished as he played nine minutes or fewer in nine games, and received a DNP-CD four times in that span.
The recent attrition in playing time may have been surprising to many who follow the Grizzlies, because Green has proven his value this season and been a dependable option off the bench. In terms of his production per 36 minutes, Green has averaged 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and roughly one assist, one steal and one block.
Though far from being a high volume shooter, Jamychal Green has quietly posted one of the most impressive shooting slash lines on the entire team at .502/.556/.771.
He’s only attempted 18 three pointers this season, but he has clearly made exponential progress as a shooter. With a shooting average of 50 percent including the exceptional three point clip of 56 percent, the Grizz faithful would love to see Jamychal stretch opposing defenses by spotting up and increasing his attempts without making any sacrifices in regards to his so far excellent shot selection. According to NBA player tracking, Green is shooting 52.9 percent on catch-and-shoot three-point attempts with an effective field goal percentage of 48.0 percent on all catch-and-shoot opportunities.
With Marc Gasol out indefinitely with a serious foot injury, the Grizzlies will rely on Green to help shore up a depleted front line. Although it was against the snakebitten Brooklyn Nets, Green received the most significant playing time (21 minutes) he’s seen in over six weeks, and in the Grizzlies first game following Gasol’s injury going into All-Star break, Green produced 13 points, including a made three-pointer, on 83.3 percent shooting from the field.
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Whatever the expectations were for Jamychal Green coming into this season, it’s safe to say he has exceeded them or at least met them when Coach Joerger allows him to set foot on the court for any meaningful amount of time.
With Gasol out and fellow frontcourt mate Brandan Wright expected to gradually integrate back into the rotation as he returns from injury, Green’s performance will be one of the most salient components of the remainder of the Grizzlies’ season.
Grade so far:
B+
Highlight of the season so far:
Jamychal has hammered several poster-worthy slam dunks this season, but his emphatic denial of Lou Williams’ dunk attempt might be his most impressive play thus far in 2015-16: