Memphis Grizzlies: Kyle Anderson Is Making An Impact
By Chris Kern
Offensive Struggles
Kyle Anderson has had some struggles finishing easy looks around the rim which will be something he will look to continue to improve on.
He has been better in recent games but even then that’s not to say he’s not contributing on the offensive end. If you have watched Anderson in his time with the Spurs or even back in college at UCLA, you know how much he has done for his teams on a nightly basis.
He gives this Grizzlies team another guy that can create to open things up for Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
Having Anderson on the floor is another guy the Grizzlies can use to slow down the pace of the game. With his nickname “Slowmo” he helps this team play the way they want to.
The NBA is getting faster and faster as teams want to score as many points as possible. The Grizzlies know their strengths and that is by playing their slow style of basketball.
They still get out and run plenty but they will pick their spots in doing so. Kyle Anderson’s 11 rebounds against the Washington Wizards helped them do so a couple times.
When Anderson gets the rebound there is no need to get a quick outlet as he is more than capable of bringing the ball up the floor. He has the ability to see the floor and make difficult passes up the floor that many players can’t.
That said there is a lot Anderson does right, but you’d still like to see him get a bit more confidence in his shot. Through seven games he is shooting just 33.3% from the field.
He has also missed both of his three-pointers, as well as five of the ten free-throws he has attempted. It’s still a very small sample size so there is no need to worry yet.
Star point guard Mike Conley is also shooting below 40% and the team is still 5-2. Both these guys should see those numbers improve and the team will benefit from it.
Anderson’s highest field goal attempts in a game is only six so he has shown he doesn’t need to shoot the ball to make an impact.
The Memphis Grizzlies are a team that has had some long stretches this season when they can’t score the basketball. If Anderson could get the confidence to attack the lane and hit a short jumper that would be big for this team going forward.