Vince Carter Gives Memphis Grizzlies Exactly What They Need

Seldom do explosive athleticism and career longevity go together in today’s NBA, where having the former almost always means compromising the latter.

Vince Carter, on the cusp of his 17th season in the league, is a notable exception. Once the game’s most feared high-flyer, the 37-year-old Carter has steadily augmented his game to become one of the league’s most reliable three-point specialists.

So how can the Memphis Grizzlies—so strong on D, so weak with the threes—get the most out of the man forever known as Vinsanity?

One thing’s for sure: On a team where Courtney Lee may have been the best offensive player in the backcourt last season, even half the most might be more than good enough.

Despite being recast as an ancillary offensive option since leaving the New Jersey Nets following the 2008-09 season, Carter’s per-36-minutes production has remained steadfastly solid.

Season (age)	Points per 36	3P%	TS%	PER
2011-12 (35)	14.4	.361	.519	13.6
2012-13 (36)	18.7	406	.579	17.8
2013-14 (37)	17.6	.394	.539	15.9

Indeed, Carter’s instant-offense capabilities certainly haven’t been lost on second-year head coach David Joerger, who provided his own analytical tidbit during an interview held shortly after the Grizzlies signed Carter to a three-year, $12 million deal.

"I don't know if people realize he is a top five pick-and-roll player in the NBA and still very athletic, still makes open shots," Joerger told reporters. "But we want him to come in a role where we give him the ball and let him do his thing. That's going to help us."

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More importantly, Carter’s impressive durability (the last time he missed any significant time due to injury: 2002-03, when he played in just 43 games) means Joerger should be able to count on Carter logging a solid 25 minutes per game—about where he’s landed the past three seasons.

At the same time, Joerger can’t exactly cast Lee and lockdown specialist Tony Allen to the pine completely. Which may explain why Rotoworld.com has Carter listed as the Grizzlies' starting small forward, replacing the capable—but offensively anemic—Tayshaun Prince.

Between Lee and Carter, Memphis is sure to face size disadvantages aplenty on the wings. For Carter in particular, last year’s positional production, while by no means alarming, isn’t exactly encouraging, either:

Position	ORtg	DRtg	PER	Opponent PER
SG	99.3	99.0	17.7	11.6
SF	105.6	103.7	15.7	13.8

As you can see, Carter measures more effective at both ends of the floor while manning the 2-guard spot.

Of course, the differences between Memphis’ defensive schemes and pedigree and those of the Dallas Mavericks are worlds apart.

Danny Johnston/Associated Press

In Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies boast one of the league’s foremost defensive tandems up front—a duo smart and savvy enough to effectively control the paint, despite their lack of fleet-footedness.

Writing at Grizzly Bear Blues, Kevin Yeung describes the basic tenet of what makes Memphis’ scheme so sneakily effective:

"

What the Grizzlies did that worked so well was that they packed the strong side, shifting the defensive positioning of all of their players and using help defense generously to pressure the offense and force them into tough situations. Grizzlies defenders that were guarding players on the weak side perimeter would venture away from their check and towards the paint. Sometimes, those guards would tag up on an opposing big man to allow the corresponding Grizzlies big man to shift even closer towards the ball.

"

In other words, whatever size Carter may be giving up in isolation is negated by how heavily his teammates are shading toward the ball, prepared to pounce at a moment’s notice.

To be sure, Carter doesn’t nearly possess the defensive range and on-ball quickness of Allen—or even Lee, for that matter. But so long as one of them is on the floor with him at any given time, Joerger will have the luxury of hiding his aging vet on the opposition’s weakest perimeter player.

But it’s at the other end of the floor that Carter’s presence stands to pay the biggest dividends.

Uncredited/Associated Press

Gasol, Randolph and eighth-year point guard Mike Conley—fresh off a career-best season—remain the focal points of a Memphis offense that finished a middling 16th in overall efficiency last year.

What Carter provides more than anything else is a reliable late shot-clock option. To wit: According to 82games.com, 41 percent of Carter’s attempts last season came with between four and eight seconds left on the clock. He hit half of them.

For a team that ended up dead last in pace last season, that’s no small encouragement.

Grizzly Bear Blues’ Raleigh McCool summed it up thusly:

"

Carter was ostensibly brought to Memphis to replace Mike Miller, our beloved Mike, loping around the three-point arc, calling for the ball, bango-ing treys with a stroke sent from God. The lay NBA-person assumed Carter, who is two years older than Miller, would do similar things in Memphis. But Carter will do more. Vince Carter is a better basketball player than Mike Miller.

"

Implied in McCool’s analysis is the idea that Carter might be best served as Memphis’ sixth man, with Prince starting in his stead. That’s certainly feasible, particularly if Joerger opts to go all-in on defense. Whatever Joerger’s decision, expect Carter and Prince to each log somewhere around 20-24 minutes per game.

Ask Carter, though, and you’re liable to hear more confidence than caution—slightly outsized expectations from one of his generation’s most outsized superstars.

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

"I just see they're playoff-ready and just see what I bring to the table," Carter told the press. "I'm able to come in and hopefully get us over the hump. That's the goal. Go as far as possible and hopefully hold up that O'Brien trophy here in Memphis. So why not make that the goal?"

For a player whose biggest hole on the Hall of Fame resume remains that elusive first championship, such benign bombast is to be expected—even if it masks his marching on for one more inevitable year.

That Memphis will be Carter’s last NBA go-round seems, at this point, all but certain.

And while Carter is beyond the blueprint that made him a household name, Memphis could soon find that this latest one—heady, steady, but with an trick or three left up his sleeve—still yields a more-than-sturdy structure.