Memphis Grizzlies: Ben McLemore brings more offense to starting 5

Ben McLemore’s return from injury could give the Memphis Grizzlies some scoring punch at Andrew Harrison’s spot in the starting lineup.

After a tough loss to the Dallas Mavericks, one thing seems to be apparent with the Grizzlies, and that’s their lack of offensive production from their starting two guard. Andrew Harrison does little for the Grizzlies as a member of the starting lineup. He’s only playing 19.2 minutes per game in the first five games of the season, even though he has started every game.

This article isn’t meant to say that Harrison isn’t an NBA-caliber player because he is. I can understand head coach David Fizdale’s reasoning for starting Harrison. He’s a big guard that can handle the ball a little bit and plays solid defense. He allows the Grizzlies to put Mike Conley into some off-ball actions, freeing him from point guard responsibilities as well. Despite these ideas for starting Harrison, he gives the Grizzlies nothing in terms of offensive production. Ben McLemore might be able to help with that.

McLemore signed as a free agent this offseason, and my immediate thought was that he would have his best chance to succeed in the NBA playing with the Grizzlies. He’s an ideal player for the Grizzlies: a good offensive player and a solid defender who gives them some shooting. Someone of his skill-set will benefit the starting lineup greatly.

Unfortunately, he has been hurt so far this season and will likely return sometime in early November.

In these first five games, Andrew Harrison’s responsibility on offense is to stand in the corner, where teams aren’t worried about his shot. This allows defenders to creep into the paint and disrupt driving lanes, freeing them up to double-team Marc Gasol or Mike Conley, if needed. There were times in the Mavericks game, when Wesley Matthews had both feet in the paint and didn’t even keep one eye on Harrison.

The Solution

While McLemore isn’t an elite 3-point shooter, he’s better than Harrison and good enough to make defenses worry about him. Last season, he shot a career-high 38 percent last season. He’s an offensive threat, and the ability to make something happen offensively could help the Grizzlies a great deal — even if it’s just a pull-up jumpshot.

McLemore may not set the world on fire as a scorer, but he’s a competent scoring guard with the ability to shoot it from deep. He plays good defense and has the chance for the first time in his career to play for a good team.