Brandon Clarke is back, and important to Grizzlies' culture
Brandon Clarke is back on the floor, contributing in the ways that have made him an important piece for the Memphis Grizzlies and its culture.
One of the biggest wins for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2024 is getting Brandon Clarke back from his year-long achilles injury. The severity of an achilles injury to an athletic-dominant player can be worrisome. However, Clarke has put in the work to be a remarkably impactful player for the Grizzlies since his return.
The Grizzlies are outscoring their opponents by a blistering 13.4 points per 100 possessions with Brandon Clarke on the floor — 96th percentile in net rating, per Cleaning the Glass. While his numbers don’t resemble his averages before the injury, his efficiency and skillset remain, as he’s reintroduced himself as a key fixture to the Grizzlies’ rotation.
November 23rd serves as a valuable data point to assess Clarke’s offensive shot frequency compared to his usual pattern. Notably, he hasn’t attempted a 3-pointer since then. In the 19 games since then, Clarke is averaging 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.6 stocks per game while shooting 66.7% from the field on 6.0 attempts per game. Again, the raw numbers don’t align with what we’ve historically seen from Clarke. I’d attribute it more to his role in the Grizzlies’ offense rather than his level of impact. However, his efficiency resides in the same ballpark we’re used to seeing from Clarke.
Clarke’s impact resounding as a finisher. This season, he’s shooting 80.9% at the rim this season, the 3rd-best mark per dunksandthrees. His finishing serves as the activator for his skillset and the magnitude of his impact offensively.
Clarke’s finishing at the rim is multi-faceted. He runs the floor well in transition alongside the initiators to set himself up for easy finishes. The pick-and-roll, cutting, and rebounding allow for him to remain a reliable source of efficient half-court offense. From there, his leaping ability and his feathery floater shine in his skillset.
“He’s always been an above 60-70 percent person in the paint,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said of Clarke. “He’s just unstoppable when he gets to certain spots on the floor.”
The pick-and-roll has been a staple in Clarke’s game since arriving in the league, typically ranking among the top of the league in pick-and-roll efficiency — currently 7th overall in points per possession, and ranking in the top-10 among those with at least 50 possessions as the pick-and-roll roller every year except for 2020-21 and 2023-24. The Grizzlies don’t run much pick-and-roll, but if you go back to Tuomas Iisalo’s offense at Paris, they emphasize slipping screens.
Clarke has always been an effective screener — though he’s not the most crushing screen-setter, he’s makes up for it with ghosting and slipping screens, and getting to his spots with the floater. And from years of playing pick-and-roll next to Morant, Clarke has developed great roll chemistry — displaying the timing, readiness, and (and still!) explosiveness to be a weapon as a roller.
Clarke’s slashing abilities also shine in cutting situations because of his keen understanding of identifying exploitable angles. He’s not going to space the floor with his outside shot; trimming it out of his shot diet completely establishes it. However, instead of placing himself just in the dunker’s spot or at the elbows, he adds value as a cutter either from the slot or from the corners, crashing the paint as the driver gets downhill.
Finally, Clarke’s offensive rebounding is remarkable for an undersized big man, even after his achilles injury. He ranks in the 88th percentile in offensive rebounding percentage at 10%, per dunksandthrees, which is the second-highest mark of his career. Even without elite explosiveness, he has three key traits that enable his offensive rebounding. His second jump is still outstanding. He also possesses great timing and a nose for the ball, evident in his cutting abilities as well.
Clarke’s dunking took a rightful spotlight for his skillset, which led to questions about his game will translate after his devastating injury. However, Clarke is showing how impactful he remains offensively because of his interior touch, basketball IQ, timing, and nose for the ball.
Defensively, Clarke doesn’t pop off the page as before, because his shot-blocking has dipped. He remains one of Memphis’ more impactful defenders — sporting a career-best +1.0 defensive EPM, 6th-best on team, per dunksandthrees. He’s a sound positional defender, capable of making an impact with his nose for the ball and his timing — which enable him to be in the right spot and generate stops. In addition, he’s a great communicator on the backline of the defense because of his familiarity in the system, important for togetherness. Though he’s not blocking shots as frequently, he’s making up for it by racking up more steals — ranking in the 71st percentile among forwards in steal percentage, per Cleaning the Glass.
His positioning and quick hands have led to Clarke generating more steals.
And to stress, he’s still blocking shots pretty well, as his percentage falls in the 72nd percentile, per dunksandthrees. His verticality and timing allow him to still alter shots despite being a smaller big and having a slippage in athleticism.
Brandon Clarke’s two-way skillset ignite a tremendous impact for the Grizzlies. His on-court impact has been documented statistically here, but he enables significant optionality for the Grizzlies alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. Defensively, he can play in multiple coverages. In pick-and-roll, he can switch, hedge, blitz, and drop. He can be in center field coverage, or he can operate as a low-man — guarding one of the corner guys. Either way, he can be a formidable help defender. While the Grizzlies don’t operate in the pick-and-roll as much, he gives them a quicker rolling option that allows them to run the floor more.
As a result, the Brandon Clarke and Jaren Jackson Jr. lineups still absolutely wreck opponents.
Their chemistry is evident from their years together on the floor and their friendship off the court (long live the Twin article of mine deep in the interwebs of the GBB archives, one of my favorite things to write).
“We just got really good chemistry together,” Clarke said. “We’ve been playing basketball together for years, and we’re friends on and off the court. I’m talking to him, and he’s talking to me. He just makes it easier on me.”
That sort of optionality with Clarke has made him an effective chess piece in the frontcourt next to Jaren Jackson Jr.. He’s been a frequent in closing lineups dating back to his rookie year. This season, he proved he can remain effective in the starting lineup — 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds on 64.7% shooting in 20.7 minutes per game in 15 appearances. Night and night — and most importantly, in the playoffs — it’s a major key to have adjustments to what your opponent is rolling out and throwing at you. And Brandon Clarke has been a common fixture in these answers.
All of these skills tie in Brandon Clarke’s importance to the team on the court, but I want to stress his importance off the floor for the team’s culture.
Yesterday, Jake Fischer reported that Clarke ranks as a player Memphis values quite highly — in light of the Jimmy Butler rumors that would’ve had to involve him to make the money work. While it’s easy to just look at numbers and accolades, there are just somethings that can’t be quantified in trade discussions — at least in discussions external from the team. For the Grizzlies, Brandon Clarke’s cultural importance is one of those unquantifiable factors, as one of the team’s longest-tenured players and an integral piece in its system.
Dating back to the end of the 2022-23 season, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane have been called to lead. Brandon Clarke is another guy who’s been with this team since the beginning of the iteration. This fact is valuable, as he’s another veteran that establishes organization expectation, exceptionalism, and continuity — on and off the floor.
“If you were here during the bubble, that’s just a different level of bond,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said of Clarke. “[It’s a] special thing. If you’ve been here for a long time, been able to play with people for a long time, it’s crazy.”
Along these same lines, Clarke has battled adversity to get back to where he’s been, after sustaining a brutal achilles tear. His work ethic surely popped in the locker room, as his process sets a good example for the young guys on how to attack rehab on your way back to the court.
“When you have an achilles injury, and being super athletic as he is, you can have those worries about what’s this going to do to impact my ability when I return,” Taylor Jenkins said. “The dude was fully committed, year-plus. Getting those opportunities at the end of last season, you saw his positive spirit. He worked so hard to get out there. I love his work ethic, how it’s improved year in and year out — not just in season, but out of season.”
In the process, Clarke’s leadership style has revealed itself. He characterizes his leadership style as “leading by example, talking on the floor, telling guys to talk more, and find ways to have fun playing together.”
He excels in setting that tone.
“It’s just a constant example walking around of good energy,” Desmond Bane said. “Lead by example. He has a sense of joy he brings at all time.”
Clarke’s leadership and resilience to get back to his game has been such a cool storyline over the past year, and has made him a key cog in the Grizzlies’ system and culture throughout his career.
“Thinking about his 6 years, it’s had some challenges for sure. He’s remained steadfast, resilient, positive throughout,” Jenkins said. “We’ve got in a lot of confidence in what he can create for us, whether he’s a starter or coming off the bench, he’s finishing games. He’s one of the most unselfish players. When I tell him what his role is going to be, he just tells me… ‘coach, I’m just excited to be out there, your faith in me and whatever I can do to help win, whether it’s a bigger role or smaller role, whatever it is’. It’s good to see he’s getting his groove back.”
It’s such a joy to have Brandon Clarke back on the court in an important role where he’s contributing in the ways we’ve always seen him excel — and that feeling replicates the joyous energy he brings on and off the court for the Memphis Grizzlies.
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