Midseason Report Cards for Every Memphis Grizzlies Player

The Memphis Grizzlies' spot atop the Southwest Division and third among Western Conference teams comes with starry player performances. A few grade out fantastically for a team that has never before been this high midway through the season.

The Grizzlies could be sending two contributors to the All-Star Game, both of whom are scoring more than ever.

Zach Randolph is overcoming his aging body to remain a preeminent rebounder.

Also, Jeff Green is fitting in with his new team, learning quickly and getting buckets.

Following are grades for every Grizzlies player, with analysis on how each one has grown or struggled thus far.

Marc Gasol

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Grade: A-

Marc Gasol is looming in the MVP discussion. NBA.com's Sekou Smith ranks him fifth, dropping him from where he stayed for a few weeks, saying, "As long as the low-post duo [of Gasol and Randolph] is in a groove come playoff time, no one will care about a slight production dip that occurred months prior. But that slip will likely cost Gasol his lofty perch in the top two or three on this list."

Indeed, Gasol hasn't lost a step, but merely deferred a bit more to Randolph and others recently. In the past 10 games, he's averaging 15.9 points per contest on 48.8 percent shooting. 

But Gasol has kept shooting with the aggression he discovered when the season began. For the year, he's averaging 19.2 points on 14.2 shots per game while making half of his shots. Even during this lull, his 12.6 field-goal attempts per game are 0.5 more than his previous career-high, showing that he hasn't completely reverted.

Considering the flow of the Grizzlies' balanced scoring attack, another surge is sure to come for Gasol, who has 17 games of 20 or more points.

Highlighting Gasol's scoring force, the Memphis Flyer's Kevin Lipe remarked after a 30-point affair against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 9, "When Marc Gasol plays like this—and scores like this—the Grizzlies are a very, very dangerous team."

Even though he puts his head down to drive more often, the Spaniard acts as a terrific facilitator, with 3.7 assists per game.

He's been great defensively, standing 10th in the league with 2.2 defensive win shares and 1.7 blocks per game.

As long as Gasol resumes his scoring drive and maintains outstanding defense, he'll take hold of the MVP race.

Mike Conley

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Grade: B+

Mike Conley is giving the Grizzlies hope of having multiple All-Star selections. He's raising his scoring profile, which is necessary for his candidacy, averaging 17.9 points per game on 46.3 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from long range.

His three-point mark is 2.7 percent better than his previous career high, and his 19.7 points per 36 minutes are 1.2 higher than last year.

SI.com's Ben Golliver placed Conley on his All-Clutch team, saying, "Conley generally strikes a nice balance between controlled play and attack mode, and that skill doesn't abandon him late in games. He can beat defenses in a variety of ways: getting to the rim, hitting floaters, knocking down open shots, or making the right read to find the open man."

Conley has slipped defensively, allowing 106 points per 100 possessions. Like the team in general, he's recovered recently on that end, allowing 103 in his last eight games.

Zach Randolph

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

Grade: A-

Randolph still produces at a high level despite the vagaries of his age. The 33-year-old scores 16.6 points per game on 49.3 percent from the field, his best mark in four years.

Randolph, who passed Pau Gasol on Saturday to become the Grizzlies' all-time rebounding leader, is working the boards like his old dominant self. He's fourth in the NBA at 11.8 rebounds per game. His 13.2 per 36 are a career high and 2.6 more than last year.

The Commercial Appeal's Peter Edmiston said of Randolph's rebounding:

"

He's got an innate sense of the ball's trajectory, rendering his relative lack of athleticism an irrelevance. But giving his spatial awareness credit is only doing him a partial service. Truth is, Randolph does a lot of work on getting boards long before the shot is taken. He craves physicality. Loves it. And he hits first.

"

Since returning from a nine-game absence with a sore knee, Randolph has been on a tear, registering 19.2 points and 13.8 rebounds per five games while shooting 54.7 percent from the field. 

He has 21 double-doubles in 31 games.

Tony Allen

Grade: A-

Tony Allen is putting together another campaign contending for a Defensive Player of the Year award. He's leading the league with a 4.4 percent steals rate while grabbing 2.1 per game. Allen stands 11th with 99.4 points per 100 possessions.

In a Commercial Appeal video, Tony Allen said of his defensive effort, "I can play the passing lanes. I can play home ball. I can play help side, whatever it is I can do to help my team."

Grizzlies play-by-play analyst Pete Pranica declared Allen "the most disruptive defender I've ever seen," per the Grizzlies' official Twitter account.

On Jan. 11, Allen cut short a Phoenix Suns fast break by darting down the court and appearing in a passing lane to snatch the ball.

While he's prone to making odd decisions offensively, he hasn't been too wild this year. Allen is scoring 8.3 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting. His 1.9 turnovers per 36 minutes are the second-best of his career. He's restrained himself from launching ill-fated outside shots, taking less than one per game.

Courtney Lee

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Grade: B

Courtney Lee continues to shine as a marksman. He's third in the NBA at 48.6 percent from three-point range. He's yet to take a serious fall in that area. Each month, he's hit better than 43 percent.

If he had been around his career average of 38 percent from downtown, Lee would have been helping the Grizzlies. But by maintaining such a high clip, he's helping the team improve in an area that had been a perennial weak spot.

He's effective overall as a shooter, posting 11.8 points on 8.8 shots per game and 49.5 percent from the field.

Lee has struggled defensively, allowing 108 points per 100 possessions, including 112 since Dec. 17. He's often a step behind on defensive rotations.

VInce Carter

USA TODAY Sports

Grade: D

Vince Carter has disappointed offensively while showing few signs that he'll fulfill his purpose in his first year with Memphis. His 6.1 points per game are barely more than half of his 2013-14 average.

Aside from a six-game run of double-digit performances in late December, he's had only one 10-point game, and none in the past three weeks. 

Carter's shooting dreadfully, hitting 33.7 percent from the field and 29.3 percent from long range. 

Peter Edmiston expressed a fear via Twitter that the 37-year-old might not have much left.

The saving grace in Carter's game is his defense. He's competing well, allowing 105 points per 100 possessions and holding a 2.1 percent steals rate.

Beno Udrih

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Grade: B+

Beno Udrih is thriving in backing up Conley. The 32-year-old is shooting a career-high 51.3 percent from the field. His 15.5 points per 36 minutes represent the second-highest mark of his career.

"He has the best midrange game I've seen. It's unbelievable for a point guard. He's not very quick. He's not very fast. He's just very good at getting to his spots," Conley told The Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery.

He's a terrific offensive guide, dishing out 6.3 assists per game.

In the two games when Udrih started in place of Conley, the offense didn't miss a beat. On Saturday, he scored 17 points while draining all seven shots, including two in the last minute to seal the win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Udrih isn't great defensively, but he never was. However, his 107 points allowed per 100 possessions are three better than his career rate.

Kosta Koufos

Grade: A

The Grizzlies have avoided giving up Kosta Koufos in a trade, and that's for good reason.

Koufos gives Memphis everything needed from a backup center on a bench unit that uses more backcourt scoring. He's accurate on his handful of attempts, shooting 55.3 percent on 3.8 shots per game.

He's one of the best defensive rebounders in the league, with a 26.2 percent defensive rebounding rate. Koufos pulls down 8.2 per game from the opponent's glass.

He's protecting the rim as well as ever, allowing 100 points per 100 possessions. His 4.9 percent blocks rate would be in the top 10 if he received a bit more playing time.

The Commercial Appeal's Ron Tillery noted Koufos as a catalyst in Memphis' second-half defensive awakening during a 109-106 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 2.

Jon Leuer

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Grade: D

Jon Leuer has struggled to adjust to his new role as an inside big man.

Leuer is making a career-low 45.7 percent from the field despite taking more shots near the basket and fewer from beyond the arc. This has hurt his shooting anywhere away from the rim. He makes 21.4 percent from between three and 10 feet and 35.4 percent from between 16 and the three-point line.

The place where he made his home last year has become another sore spot. After making 46.9 percent from downtown in 2013-14, he's hitting 27.3 percent. 

He's pulling down 8.9 rebounds per 36 minutes, the same as last year. 

With Zach Randolph out, Leuer fell short in his bid to shine with an expanded role. Starting six of seven games, he posted seven points and 4.7 rebounds in 20 minutes per game while hitting 45.1 percent from the field. He scored in double figures twice but disappeared in the other games with between four and six points.

The stagnant rebounding numbers and sagging shooting figure suggest that becoming a conventional power forward was a mistake.

Jeff Green

John Raoux/Associated Press

Grade: B-

The Grizzlies acquired Jeff Green to boost their wing depth and bench scoring. 

The Commercial Appeal's Chris Herrington explained Green's essential tools, saying, "Green's blend of athleticism, positional versatility (like [Tayshaun] Prince, he can man both forward spots) and scoring ability should allow him to soak up most of the Prince, [Quincy] Pondexter and Leuer minutes while providing better production."

Green has started well offensively, averaging 16 points in 29.3 minutes per his first three games while knocking down 39.5 percent from the field. He scored 21 points against the Orlando Magic Friday.

Head coach Dave Joerger praised Green's transition into the Grizzlies' offensive system, telling Ron Tillery, "He's extremely smart and he's picking up our stuff very quickly. Now, we just got to keep the chemistry amongst our players."

However, he's struggling to find his place on the other end. At times, he looks strong and aggressive. But he often seems lost, unsure where to rotate. He's allowed 109 points per 100 possessions.

Others

Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images

Nick Calathes

Grade: C

Since the Grizzlies are comfortable with Udrih as the backup point guard, Calathes has slipped out of the rotation. Meanwhile, his shot is failing, as he scores 2.8 points in 10.7 minutes per game while shooting 38.9 percent from the field. He's shot better than 40 percent in only five of 17 games.

When he gets significant time running the offense, the second-year player smoothly directs the action. He averages 4.7 assists per game in his six contests of 14 minutes or more.

He's made his presence felt on defense, with eight steals in the past four games.

Jarnell Stokes

Grade: C

Stokes is experiencing necessary growing pains in the short spurts of action he finds. He's averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game in 16 contests. He fouled out in 16 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 3.

Perhaps due to his brief moments on the court, Stokes struggles to find his shooting rhythm, as he makes 48 percent from the field.

Kevin Lipe raved about the infrequent opportunities Stokes received to bang around with tough big men, noting that he may be Memphis' future at power forward due to Randolph's injury potential and the lack of options.

Jordan Adams

Grade: B

Adams is faring well in his limited playing time. He's averaging 2.8 points in 7.5 minutes per game in 10 appearances while shooting 45.5 percent from the field. He caught on fire against the Nuggets, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 from the field.

A major concern for the rookie was his ball-handling, and he's managed to stay out of trouble, committing only three turnovers.

Adams, who set the single-season UCLA record for steals, has four, including two against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 19.

Russ Smith

Grade: Incomplete

The Grizzlies acquired the 6'0", 165-pound rookie guard from the New Orleans Pelicans in the Green trade on Jan. 12, but they haven't inserted him in a game.

Smith scored five points on 2-of-10 from the field in six games for the Pelicans. He spent more time with the D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaging 15.1 points per game in seven appearances.

Hence, the Louisville product, who is buried behind two veteran floor leaders in Conley and Udrih and a more polished player in Calathes, may see time with the Iowa Energy before the Grizzlies.

Herrington alluded to this possibility, saying Smith is a "longshot to log many minutes in Memphis the rest of the season."

Statistics are current through Jan. 18 games. Unless otherwise noted, advanced metrics come from Basketball-Reference.com.