Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Michael Wallace have been covering the NBA since shorts were short and socks were long, but their opinions about the League don’t always mesh. #IMHO is their weekly chance to weigh in on the most pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week right here.
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 12:48 PM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: IMHO: Bigs
Mike:
Last summer’s big offseason signing for the Grizzlies was actually a re-signing: The Grizz re-upped with Jonas Valanciunas, who came over from the Raptors as part of the Marc Gasol trade. Jonas was impressive in his brief time with the Grizz, showing grit and grind, but he was also a diametrically different center than Marc, who had become more of a perimeter-based player by that point.
The Grizz liked what they saw from Jonas enough to sign him to a reported three-year deal, and to me the early returns on Jonas fitting into Taylor Jenkins‘ system have been encouraging. The first few months of the season, it seemed like there were regularly games where Jonas couldn’t find a way to stay on the court—sometimes the game just seemed like it was too fast for him.
But to his credit, Jonas has increasingly found ways to make an impact on the games, turning in double-doubles almost every night and dominating the paint in an increasingly small-ball NBA. Mike, what have you seen from Jonas this season that has made him so effective for the Grizzlies?
From: Michael Wallace
Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 3:22 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO: Bigs
First and foremost, I see a career-high 34 double-doubles on the season beside his name in the production department. I see a 7-footer who has embraced the traditional nature of being a rugged, physical and bruising big man while also being open-minded enough to adapt to the modern NBA. Few players on the Grizz roster work as hard and as frequently after practices on their 3-point shooting than Valancuinas this season. And it’s paid off as he’s modestly raised his shot totals and efficiency from beyond the arc this season to career-best numbers.
More than anything, I credit Valanciunas for recognizing early on – well before he had any reason or evidence to do so – that Memphis would be a very comfortable and fertile spot for his game to continue to blossom and flourish. He committed to that three-year contract last summer, before he knew much of anything about where this organization was headed under a revamped front office, a new coaching staff and a retooled roster. He wanted it, regardless. And it’s paid off with a career season. His stability, rebounding and toughness have provided a much-needed, often overlooked foundation to this team. He’s always been about winning, and never accepted that this was a rebuilding season despite the youthful roster around him.
Jonas simply shows up, goes to work and produces night in and night out at a high rate as one of the top 10 centers in the league. Not only has he adapted to Jenkins’ system, as you mentioned, he’s also proved he could play alongside power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. in the starting frontcourt. It’s a shame that tandem was disrupted for the second straight spring, last year by injuries and this season by the Coronavirus pandemic.
And speaking of Jackson, we were on the verge of seeing Jackson piece together another historically unique season for a player at his age and position when it comes to combining three-point shooting and rim protection. A knee sprain sidelined Jackson in the weeks before the season was suspended, but he was in the process of returning to action in a matter of days. Aside from proving he can get through most or all of a season relative healthy, what else must Jackson show to continue his promising growth in the NBA?
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 9:38 AM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: Re: IMHO: Bigs
I thought Jaren proved himself as the best perimeter shooter on the Grizzlies last season. Which is an odd thing to say about a 6-11 dude who is all arms and hands, but yeah, Jaren attempted 340 threes (second only to Dillon Brooks) and hit right at 40 percent of them, which was the best of anyone who attempted them around that volume. Taylor Jenkins‘ staff realized this, and started finding ways to use Jaren almost like a 2-guard: running him off screens; using him in plays where he was the designated shooter.
Yet it was defensively, as you mentioned, where I thought we saw Jaren really make strides. When the season began he was still in foul trouble within minutes of the opening tip most nights, a trend that began his rookie season, and it happened frequently enough that people were wondering if perhaps Jaren was just always going to be a player who got called for a lot of fouls. He may as well have come out for the opening tip with a cookie jar on his hand — referees seemed almost gleeful to see how quickly they could get two fouls called on Jaren and get him to the bench.
And then it… stopped? Well, not stopped, entirely, but Jaren did show remarkable improvement at staying out of foul trouble, and managed to play deeper into the first quarters. And once he got better at not fouling, as the season rolled along he was able to become a shot blocker and rim protector, which seems like a natural transition for a player with his size and tools.
What’s next? I think the next step for Jaren is just cleaning things up. Physically he’s bulked up, and he has the size and speed to do anything he wants on the floor, but so often the little things slow him down: stepping out of bounds, turning the ball over trying a crossover, getting in foul trouble. To me, if Jaren can clean up all those little things, just tighten up his game in general, it will go a long way toward helping him make the next step.
One last thought: On a team defined by their youth, even though he was in his second NBA season, it’s easy to forget Jaren was still the youngest player on the Grizzlies. He’s going to be so good. But he still has some growing to do.
On the other hand, Brandon Clarke came in as a rookie and immediately played like a 7-year veteran. Clarke knew precisely what he could do, stayed within himself at all times, and played with such poise. His on-court personality reminds me very much of Tim Duncan—they both have that quiet confidence. Athletically, Clarke might be the most gifted player on the roster; if there was any Grizzlies player I wanted to see compete in the dunk contest, it was Clarke, not Ja Morant. As the season went along, Clarke expanded his range to the three-point line, added a floater, and generally played his way into all-rookie first team consideration.
And he’s a rookie! Mike, where do you see Brandon Clarke‘s game evolving next?
From: Michael Wallace
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 12:27 AM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO: Bigs
Clarke told me early this season that he spent the bulk of his offseason working on two areas: three-point shooting and ball-handling. Those were the two biggest questions in his game coming out of Gonzaga, and he didn’t really need to stretch his game all that much on his way to Las Vegas Summer League MVP honors the month after the draft. But once he got deep into the NBA season, he started to show flashes of being able to shoot with range, and put the ball on the floor to get to his favorite spot a step inside the free-throw line to sink those floaters.
There’s a maturity to Clarke’s game, largely due to the fact that he didn’t enter the NBA as a one-and-done college player. He actually spent three seasons in the NCAA ranks, which strangely may have cost him a few spots in the draft. But considering his impact – he was among the top six NBA players overall in field goal shooting percentage, and also one of the top scorers and rebounders among all rookies – Clarke was the steal of the draft. But, as you mentioned, there is room for what Jenkins likes to refer to as growth opportunities.
For Clarke, that comes in being a better on-ball defender and becoming more effective in the pick-and-roll game. Even with his immense athleticism, the nuances required to be an effective defender capable of switching onto smaller offensive players is a process that takes a few seasons to develop. Clarke has the tools and the work ethic to make up for his average height and length with a phenomenal motor. He’s relentless. Nagging injuries to his back, hip and quad also kept him out of the lineup for stretches this season. Physically adjusting to the demands of the 82-game NBA season can be a major task. Clarke is coping with that transition, and it’s all been a valuable learning experience. But he’s an anchor of a frontcourt that includes Jackson, Valanciunas, Kyle Anderson, Gorgui Dieng and Justise Winslow. That’s quality depth and potential.
Lang, we’ll get out of here on this: I believe the Grizzlies should approach Jontay Porter as if he’s their de facto first-round pick of the 2020 draft. The team signed the talented, but oft-injured big man out of Missouri to see if he can develop into a solid NBA prospect. Knee issues derailed Porter’s college career, but he was widely projected as a first-round pick before going undrafted last year as he recovered. So quietly signing Porter last month was a low-risk, potentially high-reward scenario for Memphis. If he gets right, what kind of talent are the Grizzlies getting?
From: Lang Whitaker
Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 9:46 AM
To: Michael Wallace
Subject: Re: IMHO: Bigs
Let me start by saying that I learned long ago to not trust highlight videos. They are made, by design, to show you only the best of a player, to fool you into thinking this guy is the next superstar. I’d almost rather watch lowlight videos, to see the mistakes a player has made, to see if they are just a lack of athleticism or low basketball IQ.
That being said, when I googled Jontay Porter, the first highlight video that came up paints a pretty convincing picture of his abilities, at least offensively…
(Watching that video, the first thing that came to mind is that I’d bet Porter could learn a lot from just watching and being around Kyle Anderson. Porter seems to have a similar skill/size package, perhaps with better shooting. The other thing I thought of when watching that video is that Porter kind of plays like the Grizzlies were trying to get Ivan Rabb to play, which never seemed to click. The last thought I had when watching that video is that I still don’t trust highlight videos.)
I don’t think there is any doubting Porter’s ability to play basketball and understand what the Grizzlies want him to do. The bigger issue seems to be Porter’s injury history, considering he’s torn his ACL twice in the last few years. So this seems like the Grizzlies are betting on their ability to trust Porter’s rehab and development to their training staff, to get his body to a place where he can withstand long-term NBA wear and tear.
If Porter develops to that point, it’s almost like hitting the lottery without having a lottery pick. And if he doesn’t get to that point, well, at least you tried.