Memphis Grizzlies: 3 players who have had surprisingly good seasons in 2021
No. 2: Kyle Anderson has been excellent as a fill-in for Jaren Jackson Jr.
After rotating through a few lineups at the beginning of the season, the Grizzlies finally landed on a 5-man starting unit in Jaren Jackson Jr.’s absence. Here’s what that looked like:
- PG: Ja Morant
- SG: Grayson Allen
- SF: Dillon Brooks
- PF: Kyle Anderson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
No doubt — Anderson has benefitted more than any other player from JJJ’s injury. That’s not to say he’d be excited about the injury but his game has evolved with a wide-open power forward position on this Grizzlies team.
And so far, he has stepped up in a big way for the Grizzlies. Offensively, he has taken huge steps forward from his previous years in the league, upping his scoring to 12.4 points per game in 2020-21. To put that into perspective, his previous career-high in seven years in the league was 8.0 PPG.
He has tacked on a 35.7% 3-point shooting rate to help the Grizzlies from deep when he gets an open opportunity. He has also been a solid rebounder and passer.
Most importantly though, Slow-Mo has been a life-saver on the defensive end. He’s a swiss-army knife in that sense, averaging a team-high 1.3 steals along with 0.8 blocks per game. We’ve become accustomed to “Kyle games,” where the forward will put up some of the most ridiculous stat lines in the league.
He has been a band-aid in JJJ’s absence in the best way imaginable. But his impact is a whisper compared to the next player on the list.