{"id":33311,"date":"2020-09-14T14:06:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T18:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=33311"},"modified":"2020-09-14T14:06:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T18:06:20","slug":"memphis-grizzlies-canadian-nucleus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/14\/memphis-grizzlies-canadian-nucleus\/","title":{"rendered":"Memphis Grizzlies: The Canadian Nucleus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Memphis Grizzlies are one of many NBA teams benefiting from Canadian players. Last year, the Grizzlies also benefited from drafting <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/moranja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ja Morant<\/a><\/strong>. They and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valanjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonas Valanciunas<\/a><\/strong> played a big role in the success of the Grizzlies in their last NBA season which almost resulted in an NBA playoff spot.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Canadian Influence on the Memphis Grizzlies<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Dillon Brooks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brookdi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dillon Brooks<\/a><\/strong> made a big jump in the 2019-20 NBA season. In that season, he averaged 16.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, all career highs. He also had a career-high in free throw percentage, which was 80.8 percent. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grizzlybearblues.com\/2020\/2\/10\/21127563\/dillon-brooks-deserves-this-nba-memphis-grizzlies\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grizzlybearblues.com<\/a>, Brooks struggled in his sophomore 2018-19 NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies. This included an injury where he missed 64 games in the 2018-19 NBA season.<\/p>\n<p>However, he has blossomed in the 2019-20 NBA season with an improved Grizzlies team. He has scored 20-29 points 22 times and had 30-39 points four times in the 2019-20 NBA season. This included having 31 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one block in a win against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/bucks\/\" target=\"_self\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>. This win set up the Memphis Grizzlies and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/portland-trail-blazers\/\" target=\"_self\">Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/08\/15\/memphis-grizzlies-vs-portland-trail-blazers\/\" target=\"_self\">play-in matchup for the eighth and final NBA Western Conference playoff spot<\/a>. A game in which the Grizzlies lost.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dillon Brooks 31 Points Full Highlights (8\/13\/2020)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2ddRNjnyYMo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is what Taylor Jenkins said according to Anthony Smith of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/grizzlies\/news\/brooks-dillon-the-villain-grizzlies-win-timberwolves\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sports Illustrated<\/a> back in November:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That spirit I talk about just kind of builds your confidence up, your energy up and then obviously he had a heck of a night tonight,&#8221; said Jenkins.\u00a0 &#8220;I\u2019m proud of his teammates finding him in the right spots and him being aggressive but also playing within the offense to get those shot attempts as a beneficiary of playing a pretty efficient game on both ends of the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brooks is only 24 years old and should continue to improve when he reaches closer to his peak. Brooks, the Canadian born in Mississauga is now one of the Memphis Grizzlies\u2019 best players and is an important player on their roster.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Brandon Clarke<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clarkbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon Clarke<\/a><\/strong> was brought up in Phoenix, Arizona. However, he was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to a Canadian mother. Therefore, Clarke is eligible to play for the Canadian Men\u2019s Basketball Team. Clarke was drafted 21st overall by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/nba-teams\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/\" target=\"_self\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the 2019 NBA draft. However, he was traded to the Grizzlies for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bazleda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darius Bazley<\/a><\/strong> and a future second-round draft pick according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/grizzlies\/news\/grizzlies-acquire-draft-rights-to-brandon-clarke-from-thunder-190707\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Clarke averaged 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. This included scoring 20-29 points four times. One of his most notable games was a win against the Trail Blazers on February 12. In this game, he had 27 points, six rebounds, one assist and block, and two steals. He was the best Canadian rookie of the 2019-20 NBA season, getting more votes than even <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/knicks\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Knicks<\/a>\u2019 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barrerj01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RJ Barrett<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ja Morant wins Rookie of the Year. Kendrick Nunn finishes second, Zion Williamson third: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bjeG6rplXt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/bjeG6rplXt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/malika_andrews\/status\/1301649806922833920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The hype towards Morant is justified. However, Clarke should not be overlooked. He also set a record for a rookie that has not been done for decades.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/brandonclarke23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@brandonclarke23<\/a> finished his first season shooting 61.8% from the field, setting an <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NBA<\/a> rookie record for field goal percentage (qualified for the NBA\u2019s FG% leaderboard). <\/p>\n<p>The previous record was held by Steve Johnson, who shot 61.3% for the Kansas City Kings in 1981-82.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GrizzliesPR\/status\/1294767081007853569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He is considered by many as the steal of the 2019 NBA Draft. Clarke is one of many players who established himself with the Memphis Grizzlies.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Overview of the Canadian Nucleus with the Memphis Grizzlies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The two young Canadian players will shape the Grizzlies\u2019 future along with Morant. Expect Brooks to continue to improve and possibly be an NBA All-Star in the next few years. Lastly, expect Clarke to continue to improve and find his way to the starting rotation next year.<\/p>\n<p>The success and future of the Memphis Grizzlies will depend on the development of their young players. They are a young team, which will only improve in the future. Expect them to make the NBA playoffs soon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Memphis Grizzlies\u2019 young core:<\/p>\n<p>Ja Morant &#8211; 21<br \/>Jaren Jackson Jr. &#8211; 20<br \/>Brandon Clarke &#8211; 23<br \/>Justise Winslow &#8211; 24<br \/>Dillon Brooks &#8211; 24<br \/>Grayson Allen &#8211; 24<br \/>Tyus Jones &#8211; 24<br \/>De&#39;Anthony Melton &#8211; 22<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re not a playoff team just yet, but Memphis has to be excited moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jake Weinbach (@JWeinbachNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JWeinbachNBA\/status\/1294761400548626436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"y4we5VSlRjRsjj24lTU5nA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/994373100\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'y4we5VSlRjRsjj24lTU5nA',sig:'HgHD-pg2avlY81ueMT1MAbZHPygKmXhEQIqQm8qphyc=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'994373100',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Memphis Grizzlies are one of many NBA teams benefiting from Canadian players. Last year, the Grizzlies also benefited from drafting Ja Morant. They and Jonas Valanciunas played a big role in the success of the Grizzlies in their last NBA season which almost resulted in an NBA playoff spot. The Canadian Influence on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":33456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1608,62],"tags":[1842,772,1822,167,207,3840],"class_list":["post-33311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grizzlies","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-brandon-clarke","tag-dillon-brooks","tag-ja-morant","tag-jonas-valanciunas","tag-memphis-grizzlies","tag-taylor-jenkins"],"modified_by":"Matthew Waldman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}