Is Dillon Brooks shooting his way out of the Grizzlies future plans?

Alright, now that I have your attention, let’s talk this through. I’m going to go ahead and spoil the answer now. Yes, Dillon Brooks deserves an extension. I am fully behind that. However, should the Grizzlies’ front office be concerned about his poor shooting, the volume of his shots, his poor decision-making when he takes his shots, and just his overall offensive game when they meet with him at the negation table? Well, let’s talk about it.

Currently, Dillon Brooks is shooting 39% from the field, while shooting 31% from the three-point line. Folks, these are not good shooting numbers at all. Even for a team that already struggles with their shooting. There’s no other way around that. However, if you take an even deeper dive into the numbers, is his poor shooting just a lapse in exhibiting proper basketball IQ? It’s possible.

When Dillon Brooks takes a shot within 10-14 ft from the basket, he’s shooting 49% from the field. Ok, that’s something that we can work with, right? From 5-9 ft from the basket, he’s shooting 37% from the field. That’s a pretty significant difference, but that shooting percentage is still something I’d take any day of the week. You would think those percentages would be in reverse, but here we are.

Grizzlies Dillon Brooks needs to change his shot selection

What is hurting his shooting percentage is how many attempts from the three-point line he’s taking. As mentioned earlier, he’s shooting 31% from the three-point line. That’s bringing his shooting numbers down significantly, and it’s a major blemish on his shooting record. From inside the arc, he’s actually fairly efficient on the floor. Just for giggles cause I’m sure you were wondering, he’s shooting a whooping 30% from step-back jumpers. Let’s work together to make sure he never takes a step-back jump shot again while employed by Robert Pera.

Essentially, his shooting is bad only because he chooses to take shots that we have enough of a sample size to say, he’s more than likely not going to make. If I’m in the negotiating room, or even a coach on the bench, I’m telling Dillon to look for his shot where he’s been the most effective, and that’s with a midrange game.

You wear #24 because Kobe was your favorite player. He was a midrange guru. Start emulating his game in that way, while keeping your defensive edge on the other end as well. If you make this minor change by simply improving your shot selection, and keeping your defensive tenacity at the level it is, then your shooting will only improve. If you can do that, it will not affect your talks of a contract extension come this offseason with the Memphis Grizzlies.