Memphis Grizzlies: What To Expect Out Of Chandler Parsons This Season
By Chris Kern
With Chandler Parsons coming into his third year with the Memphis Grizzlies, they need him to get healthy and start producing.
Parsons had a very successful first five seasons in the league. Three which were with the Houston Rockets and two were with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged over 14 points per game in his time with both of those teams.
He looked to be on his way to a special career. The Memphis Grizzlies signed him to a four year, $94.8M max deal in the summer of 2016. They had just been swept by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol out due to injury. They signed Parsons to try and form a big 3 to compete in the western conference.
His First Two Seasons
Parsons first two seasons with the Grizzlies didn’t go as planned. He was injured for most of it and even when he was on the floor he didn’t have much of an impact. He was nowhere near the level he was at with Dallas or Houston.
His first season with the team was terrible. He averaged just 6.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Both of these numbers were easily career lows for him. His shooting percentages were also very low. He shot just 34% from the field and just 27% from three-point range.
Parsons looked better last season than he did in his first season with the Grizzlies. He didn’t have as high of expectations as he did the year before and it showed. He didn’t dominate but he had a solid role when he did play.
His scoring average rose to 7.9 points per game. His shooting percentages improving are what stands out though. He improved his shooting percentage to 46% while also shooting 42% from three-point range.
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His Role Next Season
If Parsons can continue to build off those numbers he could have a big impact these next two years. He won’t be asked to play a big role but if he can come off the bench and score that would be huge for this team.
The Memphis Grizzlies signed Kyle Anderson from the Spurs this offseason so there isn’t a need for Parsons to push for a starting job. If he can get healthy enough to be used in a consistent role with the second unit that will be enough for the team.
Parsons is gonna be healthier going into this season than he has been during his time in Memphis. It’s unreasonable to expect him to play 80 games. But if he can average similar numbers while playing close to 60 games that would be huge for the Grizzlies success.