Memphis Grizzlies: Darius Garland Could Replace Mike Conley As The Point Guard Of The Future

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Eric Bledsoe Mike Conley Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Comparisons

There are a couple of different player comparisons that I have seen that make a lot of sense. I’ll start with the one who might be less popular and this is courtesy of NBA Draft Room which is Tyler Ulis. They do specify that he is a taller Tyler Ulis which does make a big difference.

Depending on where you look Garland is listed as either 6’2 or 6’3 which gives him about five inches on Ulis at least. Ulis has played just 1 minute in an NBA game this season after having a productive first two seasons with the Phoenix Suns.

He averaged 7.6 points and 4.1 assists per game in 132 games including 58 starts with the Suns. It was a good start to his career and he showed he could be a valuable piece. Putting up numbers on one of the worst teams in the league isn’t the same as producing on a quality team though.

They do have some similar skills between the two but Garland’s potential is much higher than Ulis’ ever was, even with the height difference between the two players. That’s a fun comparison but one that should excite Grizzlies’ fans is Eric Bledsoe which comes from DraftSite.

Bledsoe has had a very productive NBA career but coming out of college he had a similar skillset and frame compared to Garland. Bledsoe was listed as 6’1, 192 pounds by NBADraftNet while the same site lists Garland as 6’2, 175 pounds.

Since then Bledsoe has put on weight though which is something Garland will need to do. I would expect him to get closer to 200 pounds before he plays an NBA game. It will be interesting to see what he weighs at the NBA Draft Combine in May.

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Bledsoe has had a lot of success in this league and has really established himself as one of the most underrated players in the game. He had two seasons in Phoenix where he averaged more than 20 points per game but I would still say his past two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks has been his best.

The numbers won’t say it but he is more in control of the game and is such a smarter player. In his two seasons where he averaged more than 20 points, the Suns had a record of just 47-117, part of that was his health issues as he played in just 99 of those games but it still shows that his numbers didn’t necessarily help the team win.

While with the Bucks he has been much better and the team has been much better. This season through the first 63 games he is averaging 15.9 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. The Bucks have a record of 49-16 which is the best in the whole NBA. That is his lowest scoring average since he was with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2012-13 season.

If Garland can have the career Bledsoe has had you would take that for sure. He is a guy who has all-star potential but in today’s NBA, especially in the western conference, it is much tougher than before to earn that honor.

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Jaren Jackson Jr. is an emerging young star inside and being able to pair him with another guy who is extremely young at the point guard spot is crucial. It would give this team a building block for the next 15 years as they look to build a championship contender.

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