Here we are 10 games into the season and our beloved Memphis Grizzlies sit at 6-4 The defense is top 10 and a big part of that is none other than Mr. Slow Mo himself, Kyle Anderson.
Kyle Anderson was beaten out for the starting small forward job in training camp by Chandler Parsons and everyone has seen him struggle to fit in with the rest of the Memphis Grizzlies team Not to mention being virtually nonexistent offensively.
Part of that is due to the fact he has spent 40% of his time on the court at small forward, which puts him at a disadvantage being off the ball. He has been on the wing despite not being a reliable three-point shooter in his NBA career thus far.
He also spent 59% of his time at power forward which enables him to rebound but takes him away from his biggest asset ball handling & playmaking.
Slow Mo is a unique talent. He’s clearly best as a ball handler making plays, essentially making him a point guard in a stretch forward body.
Since being here he has been tasked with doing everything except the former which basically means they have mostly used him to do everything he shouldn’t be doing. That is a big reason why his production has been off until Wednesday vs the nuggets.
How Kyle benefits The team best
Anderson isn’t the only one who has had an adjustment period early on. Mike Conley, shooting 35% from the field as of now is struggling arguably more than he has.
Some chalk it up as rust coming off of a bone spur and Achilles recovery which cost him virtually an entire season. Others have even speculated Conley’s best days may be behind him when we look at the fact he has had serious time missed the past 3 years now.
When you’re at age 31 most aren’t improving after such a history. However, I would like to add another dog to the race if you will.
A huge part of why Conley is struggling is because aside from Marc Gasol and Shelvin Mack, he hasn’t had anyone to allow him to play off the ball.
This is what Anderson was signed for. On offense, he is supposed to be the ball handler that creates open looks for Conley and Gasol.
He is also best attacking off the dribble in half court & on fastbreaks whenever he is generating offense.
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Also like Golden State does with Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, when your best defender and worst shooter happens to be a good ball handler and selfless passer, you should let them run the offense as much as possible.
This negates the fact they don’t stretch the floor much, so you balance it by making them the guy who creates offense as opposed to shrinking it by being a liability that allows defenses to cheat.
Anderson also relieves Conley defensively by either taking on the best offensive threat or by using his length and defensive IQ to help out & disrupt passing lanes.
He is also underrated as a rim protector, even if he isn’t blocking shots he does a great job contesting them and that spares Conley some wear & tear to focus more on scoring. This also has a similar impact for Gasol and even Jaren Jackson Jr.
Anderson should be the starting small forward on paper but he should be the de facto point forward who punishes defenders for cheating on him by either making the easy assists or using his slower than molasses moves to get to the basket.
When he is in rare form can be a really special player, but he has to be utilized in his strengths. Which isn’t standing in the corner turning a playmaker into a corner specialist.
If the Memphis Grizzlies can do a better job letting him play to his strengths we can expect a similar impact going forward like the one he had against Denver.