Biggest Surprises and Disappointments for the Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are benefiting from a few eye-opening performances while running among the best teams in the Western Conference.
The Grizzlies are playing remarkably well, with impressive offensive showings by a few players. Marc Gasol has found a new gear on that end. In his 11th season, Beno Udrih is having one of the best performances by a Grizzlies backup point guard.
Indeed, not every Memphis player has started 2014-15 as expected. Particularly, the Grizzlies' biggest free-agent haul in franchise history, Vince Carter, hasn't assured that he'll produce consistently.
Take a look at each player who's confounding in the expectations department thus far, whether positively or negatively.
Statistics are current through Dec. 21 games. Unless otherwise noted, advanced metrics come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Surprise: Marc Gasol
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Marc Gasol played within himself before this season. He'd been a complementary shooter in his first six years in the NBA, even while averaging career highs of 14.6 points and 12.1 shots per game in 2013-14. He was a pass-first center who dished out 3.6 assists across three years entering 2014-15.
Hence, it didn't inspire more than a shrug when he told Fran Blinebury of NBA.com in October, "I'll be more aggressive. It doesn't mean I'll score the ball more. It means I'll be on the go all the time."
Nor did a quote that Blinebury cited from The Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery of Mike Conley saying, "What we're trying to preach to him is that it's sometimes the right decision to shoot on the first catch."
Nevertheless, Gasol's taken his game to the next level. He's averaging 19.7 per game on 50.3 percent shooting. Still, he's facilitating the offense, distributing 3.7 assists per game.
Gasol hasn't been surprised by his big step, telling Tillery, "I don't see the big deal. It's just a natural progression. I just have to score more; give us a good chance to win."
Gasol's made his mark as a dominant defender, winning the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year award and awakening the "grit 'n' grind" attack to spur their playoff push.
The Spaniard now has the offense to match his prowess as a rim protector. It's hurtled him into the MVP discussion and confirmed his place as the NBA's best center.
Disappointment: Vince Carter
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Vince Carter is failing to live up to the call. After scoring 11.9 points per game and hitting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc for the Dallas Mavericks last season, Carter isn't producing for his sixth team in his NBA career.
Carter should be leading Memphis' bench scorers, but he's fourth with 6.7 points in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from long range.
The 37-year-old, who had surgery in May to remove bone spurs in his right ankle, said he was feeling better than when he arrived in Memphis, telling Tillery (subscription required) in early December:
"I feel great. I've come a long way since the start of the year. I've been doing whatever is needed. Anything having to do with the lower body I do it. This is a process and I knew that coming in. You want everything to go your way and be healed immediately. It doesn't work that way.
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His overall shooting has returned in the past four games, as he has scored 14 per on 46.5 percent shooting.
Meanwhile, he made nine of 16 threes in the first two games of that stretch and missed all five in the last two. The Grizzlies have been unable to rely on his accuracy from deep since he hasn't strung together three straight contests knocking down a third of his three-point attempts.
If recovery from injury was the biggest hurdle for Carter, then the Grizzlies can hope he'll fulfill his role as a perimeter shooter.
Surprise: Courtney Lee
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Courtney Lee has made a career out of being a solid perimeter shooter, but he's on another tier this year.
Lee's leading the league at 54.5 percent from long range, 15.5 percent higher than his career rate. That's a big rebound after he shot 31.8 percent from beyond the arc in the final three months last season.
"I'm definitely comfortable with this team because it's my second year. I'm comfortable with everyone out there, and they've got confidence in me, and that helps a lot," Lee told Tillery (subscription required).
In his second year as a full-time starter in seven pro campaigns, Lee is picking his spots more carefully than ever. He's launching a career-low 8.4 shots per 36 minutes. He takes 56.9 percent of his shot from outside 15 feet, slightly higher than last year.
Despite hoisting a modest number of attempts, Lee's fourth on the team with 11.7 points per game due to his 51.5 percent field-goal clip.
Disappointment: Quincy Pondexter
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Two years removed from a solid run as a three-and-D player, Quincy Pondexter isn't living up to that standard.
Pondexter, who missed 67 games last season with a stress fracture in his right foot, is shooting dismally, making 31.7 percent from the field and 24.2 percent from downtown.
That pales in comparison to his healthy 2012-13, when he shot 39.5 percent from three-point range while allowing 104 points per 100 possessions.
The Memphis Flyer's Kevin Lipe noted on Saturday that Pondexter "has really been struggling to find any type of offensive rhythm of late."
He's getting the second-highest allotment among bench players at 18.1 minutes per game but is scoring 4.3 points per game, two fewer than in 2012-13.
SB Nation's Chris Faulkner sounded the alarm after nine games, saying Pondexter "doesn't seem to fit the role Dave Joerger wants for him."
Faulkner is worried whether this role is good for the fifth-year player, but acting as a low-usage three-point specialist is best for him. He has six total turnovers compared with the two per 36 last year when he had an 18 percent usage rate.
Defensively, he's only shown flashes of his old self. He's giving up 108 points per 100 possessions and collecting a career-low 0.3 steals per 36.
Now, one must worry if he topped out in his third season. With one good three-point shooting run to date, he may not be able to recover that aim.
Surprise: Beno Udrih
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Beno Udrih is two years removed from playing a regular role off the bench and eight seasons from such a place on a playoff team (2006-07 San Antonio Spurs).
Still, he's thriving as Mike Conley's backup. Udrih is averaging 7.1 points in 17.8 minutes per game while shooting a career-high 51.4 percent from the field.
He's been a great facilitator off the bench, producing 7.2 assists per 36 minutes.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Udrih scored or assisted on 19 points in a 20-0 second-quarter run that gave the Grizzlies the lead for good against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
"We picked up the pace and we came out making shots," Udrih told Tillery (subscription required).
Lipe dismissed the possibility of Nick Calathes wresting the No. 2 point guard role from the 32-year-old, saying:
"It really doesn't matter what advantages Calathes offers over Udrih right now—they're hypothetical and Udrih's passing and scoring is very, very concrete. ... He's really come into his own with the Grizzlies' second unit (and with the starters as a secondary ball-handler), and he provides a true backup at the point that the Grizzlies haven't ever had (with the exception of Calathes down the stretch of last season).
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While playing Calathes regularly could work and would help the second-year NBAer's development, the Grizzlies are doing well by sticking with the productive Udrih.
Disappointment: Jon Leuer
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Jon Leuer only provides a minor letdown at this point.
Leuer, who has played in 25 of 27 games after appearing in 49 last year, is growing into a more significant role as the No. 2 power forward. He's seeing 16.2 minutes per game, 3.1 more than in 2013-14, and has already matched last season with 18 games of 13 minutes or more.
In the process, he changed his game. The 25-year-old is working the interior more, taking 31.7 percent of his shots at the rim, 6.9 percent more than last season.
He isn't taking quite as many threes. His 0.8 three-point attempts per game are 0.2 fewer than last year and make up 13.4 percent of his field-goal attempts, 6.5 percent less.
The result is discouraging. He's shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from long range, drops of 2.7 and 15.3 percent, respectively.
As I wondered why the stretch 4 would be diminished when he excelled from downtown a year ago, Three Shades of Blue's Zach Thomas explained via Twitter that Leuer bulked up in the offseason and would play inside.
The added weight has yet to help Leuer on the boards. His 8.5 rebounds per 36 minutes are 0.4 fewer than last year, and his 14.6 percent total rebounding rate is 1.1 percent lower.
What remains true of the fourth-year pro is that he can produce when he gets the chance, as seen on Sunday when he scored 16 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers in his first start for the Grizzlies.
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