Memphis Grizzlies: Jevon Carter Energizing The Team Despite Recent Struggles

The Memphis Grizzlies losing streak continues and nearly everything is going wrong. Jevon Carter has brought energy to this team when they have desperately needed it.

The Memphis Grizzlies are heading into a new chapter of their franchise. Jaren Jackson Jr. is the centerpiece but Jevon Carter is another guy who Grizzlies fans will enjoy watching for a long time.

His effort and energy have been one of the few bright spots during the recent eight-game losing streak. They finally got a win on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers with newcomer Bruno Caboclo making a big impact.

The team as whole played with a lot of energy and that can be enough to win you games. If you play hard and hit some shots you will be successful.

This team has gotten blown out on many occasions which have frustrated fans even more so than they did last season despite finishing with just 22 wins which were their lowest mark since the 2007-08 season.

The past decade in Memphis has been succesful and while they never made a trip to the NBA Finals they had a lot of success. That era is coming to an end though as Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are on the trade block.

With those two available you can assume that nearly everybody on this roster is available for the right price. While Carter hasn’t played a lot of minutes this season he still has done enough to be included in the Grizzlies’ long-term plans.

He has had a couple of impressive performances especially in his NBA Debut against the Houston Rockets. That game he did enough to warrant earning his first career NBA Start the next time they played the Rockets.

On the season he is averaging just 3.4 points and 1.8 assists per game. He has struggled to shoot the ball, hitting just 29% of his shots overall and just 25% from three-point range.

The energy he has brought in critical times has been huge for this team. It hasn’t led to a lot of wins but it certainly has helped ignite the crowd in home games.

He gets hustle plays that very few guys in this league do. That’s been a part of his game for a long time and we saw him make those plays at West Virginia so we can expect to see the effort plays every time he is on the floor.

His ability to do the little things has made a big difference in games. Joakim Noah has been another guy who makes those effort plays but it seems every time Carter is on the floor he makes that play.

Noah has definitely revived his career a little bit in Memphis. He isn’t playing like the all-star he once was but he has made himself into a good backup center.

Carter isn’t necessarily getting a lot of steals though as he is averaging just 0.8 per game, there are just no hustle stats to show everything he does.

This may be something very few people have noticed but just look at him when he is on the bench. You will notice him standing up helping out his teammates on the floor and getting hyped for them seemingly every possession.

When he is on the floor he is playing with that same focus. He is clapping his hands and encouraging his teammates which leads to the crowd getting excited.

He is always giving his best effort and while that may sound cliche it definitely is not true about the majority of NBA players.

It may not lead to a lot of wins but what Carter does is making an impact and Grizzlies fans are going to love watching this dude play for hopefully the next decade or so.