Memphis Grizzlies first-round pick Brandon Clarke has quietly put together an impressive rookie campaign and much of his success can be attributed to his hot shooting.
Clarke is averaging 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23 games played. Clarke is shooting 64.4% from the field, including 45.7% from 3-point range. He ranks fifth in the NBA among all players in field-goal percentage and eighth in true shooting percentage, according to NBA stats.
Put simply: Clarke is shooting well from all areas of the court.
To further illustrate just how well Clarke is shooting, Zach Lowe of ESPN pointed out on Friday in his weekly “Ten NBA things I like and don’t like” column that Clarke has been on fire from the floater range in the paint, shooting an astounding 63% in that area.
Seriously: Clarke is shooting 63% from floater range, which ranks in the 99th percentile among bigs. The potential power of the Jackson-Clarke duo lies in their ability to swap roles; either can screen and slice to the basket while the other spots up. Taylor Jenkins almost always has one big in the corner, and Clarke has hit half his corner 3s.
As Ja Morant has stolen most of the headlines this season with the Grizzlies, and rightfully so, Clarke has been an added bonus for the organization. The frontcourt pairing of Clarke and Jaren Jackson Jr. has been quite entertaining this season and should be among the best in the league in the future, as noted by Lowe.
The Grizzlies play next on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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