Almost every player on the Memphis Grizzlies roster saw a drastic improvement during the course of the 2020-21 season. We witnessed breakout seasons from two rookies and general improvement from top to bottom on the team’s roster.
But not everybody got better last season.
While guys like Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson took significant strikes, a few players were left in the dust. Perhaps the most notable was Jaren Jackson, Jr., who was injured for a majority of the season. He, however, had a strong excuse, as the former Michigan State big man was never fully re-introduced to the rotation.
Another guy who regressed was Brandon Clarke, JJJ’s “twin.” While Clarke wasn’t suffering from a drastic injury like Jackson, he was banged-up heading into the season, making it extremely difficult to play his brand of basketball. This, paired with the fact that the Grizzlies were trying to turn him into a higher-volume shooter, caused the Canadian forward to have a rough year.
Clarke’s stats all saw a significant regression from a season ago, even with an increase in minutes played per game. His points per game, field goal percentage, and total rebounds all plummeted. But things may not be as bad as they seem.
Memphis Grizzlies F Brandon Clarke is set for a bounce-back season in 2021
As mentioned, Clarke had a handful of small injuries that made it extremely difficult for him to get into a groove last season. His numbers did look extremely disappointing, but the Grizzly forward was playing under abnormal circumstances.
With a fully healthy team, himself and Jaren Jackson Jr. included, he should get back to a more pure power forward role in this team’s rotation. Grind City Media’s Rob Fischer touched on this on Thursday. Here’s what Fischer said.
"“Last year was weird because there were a lot of factors, injuries being one of them. I think him trying to do more, almost forcing to do more. Shooting the three-ball, more time playing at the five, which he never looked comfortable there.”"
Fischer went on to describe how he expects Clarke to make a shift back toward what he was doing his rookie year.
"“So this year, I expect him to do more of what we saw his rookie year. Now, his role will be defined. It’s not whether or not he’s going to start or come off of the bench, it’s not whether or not he’s going to play at the four or play at the five — he’s going to be at the four.”"
Everything that Fischer said is spot-on.
You can even feel it when speaking with Grizzlies fans. Nobody has any ill-will toward Brandon Clarke because he hasn’t necessarily done anything wrong. Bring up Justise Winslow, who was just flat-out terrible for the Grizzlies last season, and you’ll instantly bring anger into the conversation. Clarke feels like a player who still has a great career ahead of him.
Taylor Jenkins tried to fit a square peg into a round hole to make up for Jaren Jackson, Jr.’s absence and it didn’t work. Next year, he won’t make the same mistake.
Everybody who has been around the Grizzlies during training camp this offseason has spoken very highly of the soon-to-be third-year forward. Expect a big year out of him.