The Memphis Grizzlies are an ever-present mid-tier playoff team in the stacked Western Conference, a team filled with energetic youth, trusty veterans (including the comp’s oldest active player) and a crippled max-contracted playboy in Chandler Parsons.
Chandler’s first five months in Memphis has been a grind, to say the least.
Coming off two major knee surgeries and off 66 and 61 game seasons for the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis took a splash in free agency in an attempt to fill the long-sought-after three and D wing previously vacated by the late-game isolation abuser Rudy Gay, and the most frustrating Grizzly of recent memory, Jeff Green.
Parsons’ offseason trade had NBA media cautious but hopeful of the hole being filled by a player whose skillset is suited ideally to Memphis: a wing who can shoot, drive, play a little bit of team defence. While injury concerns were prevalent, a healthy Chandler Parsons has the potential to make Memphis elite in the West, where they are knocking on the door, able to beat anyone on their day through the trademark grit and grind.
A max contract of $94 million brings great expectations and responsibility – perhaps unfairly to the player. This has very much been the case among NBA fans towards Parsons just five months into his four-year tenure.
Many have called for him to be placed on the trade block, opening up rotation minutes for Troy Daniels and James Ennis III. But while this pair are solid role players, they are certainly not the same talent Parsons is, hence the disparity of interest during the offseason.
While Parsons’ output has been poor, a great deal of the stick he receives comes at the expense of his private life and social media habits.
His Instagram page was bombarded with abuse as he documented his all-star weekend trip to Cancun, with fans calling for him to get in the gym, as well as criticising his lack of professionalism.
In contrast, his teammates and coaching staff have been vocal in their support for Parsons, with head coach David Fizdale his biggest defender.
“All I know is I see a guy in here really trying to help us,” Fizdale told Michael Wallace of Grind City Media.
“And you better believe it – when he gets going, it’s going to be a huge lift to us. And I guarantee you a lot of people will be happy with him once that body starts moving.”
Chandler’s most vehement critic is himself.
“I know a lot of people are getting frustrated and, trust me, they’re not more frustrated than I am,” Parsons remarked in a talk with USA Today’s Geoff Calkin’s. “Nobody wants to play well more than I do”
This self-awareness show that Parsons is indeed trying to overcome his constant injury problems. It’s pretty clear that his real hindrance at the moment is not his attitude but rather his health.
He has no lift in his legs, meaning the now mocked flat shot of his has been knocking down at 26 per cent this year, a massive drop off for a 36 per cent career three-point shooter. Surely that can’t be down to a poor attitude, could it?
His lack of lift in his legs has had a domino effect on the rest of his game. Laying the ball up is a struggle, his best offensive move – the pump-fake and drive – is weakened due to the lack of explosiveness as well.
This has allowed however for Parson’s to focus on the small things.
Some promise has been shown in recent weeks without shots falling, often getting on the defensive glass, playing the extra pass to the open man, and cutting to create lanes for driving opportunities. Most admirably, Parsons has put his already banged up body on the line to take charges in the paint, which speaks volumes for his commitment to the Grizzlies.
These selfless acts don’t necessarily translate to the box score, often the main referral source to NBA performance critique.
Only last weekend, Parsons was able to play back-to-back games of 20 minutes, still in physical pain but it’s progress. The season is a long grind, with plenty of time for experiment, especially with Memphis healthily buffered to missing out of the playoffs.
What the Grizzlies coaching staff and frankly every fan should be rooting for is a healthy and productive Parsons, one who is able to contribute to the Grizzlies’ playoff aspirations. With patience, this can be achieved.
As a few shots go down and confidence is regained, Parsons will return to his Houston self – a capable and valuable NBA team player, improving this Grizzlies Team immensely.
He could very well be the missing piece that results in a deep playoff run, a conference title, or even the coveted NBA ring.
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