The Memphis Grizzlies have a roster full of “almosts.” When I say that, I mean that the team has a handful of players who could have earned recognition for their performance in the 2020-21 season but didn’t. Let me give you an example.
In 2019-20, Kyle Anderson averaged 5.8 points, 0.8 steals, 2.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. It was a decent year, but the Grizzlies wouldn’t truly unlock his potential until the 2020-21 season when Anderson more than doubled his scoring output and increased his numbers in every statistical category. Here’s what his season looked like.
- 2020-21 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 3.6 APG, 5.7 RPG, 36% 3PT (↑8%)
Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson became an objectively better player in 2020-21
Anderson didn’t just play more and increase his stats — he became a better basketball player. To put this into perspective, he increased his scoring averaged to over double what it was a season before with just a seven-minute per game increase in playing time. He shot the ball more, and he shot it more effectively.
This was well reflected by the 8% increase in his 3-point shooting percentage. The most exciting part? He increased his shooting percentage by that margin on a significantly higher volume of shots. He hoised up 3.8 3-point shots per game this past season. The closest before that? 1.3 per game, about a third of the total.
Despite all of this, Anderson seemingly wasn’t even considered for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, which went to Julius Randle. Granted, Randle took a huge step forward, but this is another example of a Grizzlies player being overlooked for an award.
Today, I’m going to explore three Grizzlies players who could break that mold in 2021.
Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson should be considered a frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year
We’re on a bit of a slippery slope here, as there are a couple of factors that could make Kyle Anderson’s run for Sixth Man of the Year a bit tricky. For starters, pun intended, he might end up being in the starting lineup for a solid portion of the year.
Even though it seems painfully obvious that Dillon Brooks is a much better small forward, Taylor Jenkins has shown that he loves running Brooks at the two and Kyle Anderson at the three. This points to the fact that Anderson will land in the starting lineup, at least to begin the 2021 season.
The other part of this is the fact that Anderson seems like a popular choice as a player who could be traded away from the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s a great player, but at peak value entering a contract year, it may not make sense to hold onto Slow-Mo.
Still, if he does stick around, he could easily be Sixth Man of the Year. Here’s why.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is back in the starting lineup. If the Grizzlies choose to run a rotation where Anderson is coming off of the bench, they’ll likely only reduce his minutes slightly. This is not a team with a handful of depth at the power forward spot. His stats should stay relatively constant with what they looked like a season ago.
If the Grizzlies made a playoff run with Anderson coming off of the bench running the point, playing defense in the paint, and dishing out passes, it would be hard not to consider Anderson for this award.
Memphis Grizzlies F Jaren Jackson Jr. could have won comeback player of the year if the award still existed
I know, I know. This slide is a bit of a cop-out, as the NBA’s Comeback Player of the Year Award has been out of commission since 1986. Even during that time, it was only around for a few seasons.
Still, I’m going to write a slide about how Jaren Jackson Jr. deserves to be recognized as the league’s unofficial Comeback Player of the Year. Deal with it.
The main takeaway that you should get from this slide is that JJJ is destined to turn heads in 2021-22. For starters, the Grizzlies lost virtually all of their offensive production down low when Jonas Valanciunas was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. His replacement, Steven Adams, is a better defensive player and struggles to get going on offense.
Jackson Jr., on the other hand, has all of the potential in the world on offense. He has the quickness to make plays on the dribble and can develop the strength to back players down. He will be the primary scoring option among bigs for the Grizzlies in 2021.
His shooting was rough last year, but with a strange late-season start, he should bounce back offensively if he is able to avoid injury.
Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant is on track to make his first NBA All-Star appearance
If you like to get into semantics, you’ll have all of the criticisms in the world for this article. Sure, an NBA All-Star appearance isn’t technically an NBA Award. Guess what? This is my post — I make the rules.
Ja Morant had an up-and-down 2020-21 regular season that was riddled with inconsistencies. His 3-point percentage leveled out around 30% by the end of the season, but it was hovering below 25% for the bulk of the year. That, in essence, affected his whole game.
Once he got going offensively though, Morant was unstoppable. Use the Grizzlies’ NBA Playoff series with the Utah Jazz as an example. Morant set every scoring record imaginable while having a respectable series as a passer. He broke the Grizzlies’ playoff single-game scoring record with 47 points and the Grizzlies’ playoff scoring average with over 30 points per contest.
Morant showed us that he was ready to take the next step that many fans expected earlier in the year. This is a good look as the 2021-22 season approaches.
With the aforementioned offensive loss of Jonas Valanciunas, Morant will need to step up as a scorer even further in 2021. Expect his scoring average to bump up and while I’m at it, you should also expect his jump shot to improve. He wasn’t hitting shots, but it didn’t feel like a lost cause. By the end of the year, he proved that he can shoot the ball in the mid-30s.
In my heart, I truly believe that Ja Morant will earn his first NBA All-Star appearance next season. Heck, if you really want a specific award, maybe he’ll win the NBA All-Star Game MVP award.
Memphis Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks probably won’t win Defensive Player of the Year, but what if?
In an article full of mild exaggerations and NBA Awards that have been brought back from the dead, I thought it would be downright disrespectful if I didn’t at least mention Dillon Brooks as a contender for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Granted, I’d bet my house that he doesn’t win the award — still, it’s worth a mention.
Say what you want about Brooks as a player — he’s one of the most versatile defenders in this league. When the Grizzlies are playing the Lakers, he defends LeBron James 1-on-1. When the Grizzlies face the Warriors, Brooks is on Curry. Outside of the center position, there may not be a player in the league who Brooks can’t guard.
Even so, he was snubbed from an NBA All-Defensive team honor in 2020-21 and it’s nearly impossible to see him make the jump from nothing to the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Still, Brooks can earn All-Defensive team honors next season. The best part? All he has to do is continue to dominant.
Brooks averaged a team-high 1.2 steals per game last season. The real work, however, isn’t always quantified on a stat sheet. Brooks’ attitude on defense, trash-talking, and ability to play man-to-man defense should not be minimized. He may not be nationally recognized, but he is among the ranks of players like Draymond Green when it comes to importance on this team.
Again, my heart tells me that Brooks will make an All-Defensive team in 2021. Let’s hope I’m right.