JaMychal Green is making his presence felt in every scrappy way he can for the Memphis Grizzlies. With the many small ways in which Green works the floor, he shows outsized value for someone on a minimum contract who had to prove himself throughout the summer and preseason before having his deal guaranteed.
The 6’9″, 227-pound power forward averages 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game. His 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes and 17.1 percent total rebounding rate lead the team.
But Green’s biggest contributions aren’t seen in the box score. He runs the floor frantically, scraps for loose balls and covers a wide area on defense. Being a high-energy player who covers a great amount of ground on both ends of the floor is the calling card of this 25-year-old second-year NBAer.
The Memphis Flyer’s Kevin Lipe highlighted Green’s hustle after the Grizzlies’ 101-100 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, saying, “He was everywhere on offense and defense and you could tell his strategy was just to outwork everyone on the other team. It works well for him, and in the absence of Brandan Wright…the team needs its bench bigs to play with that kind of intensity.”
Green told The Commercial Appeal after the Grizzlies downed the Kings 103-89 on Nov. 3 that he aimed to “show more energy on defense.”
And that was his biggest game statistically, posting 12 points and 12 rebounds. He had a great nose for getting putbacks, but was mainly focused on stretching out to recover from the 50-point loss to the Golden State Warriors the day before.
While the Grizzlies fought to stay in the game on Nov. 11 against the Warriors, Green anticipated and rotated across the lane to block a layup by Stephen Curry.
Monster block by @Jmyke1! https://t.co/OqiVxSQ6o4
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 12, 2015
In June 2014, the Grizzlies acquired Jarnell Stokes in the draft as the next grinder in the frontcourt. However, Green, an undrafted player who Memphis signed on Feb. 19 after the San Antonio Spurs had let him go earlier in the month, has shown his ownership of that role in the early stage of the season.
As Green supplanted Stokes amid the Memphian’s slow development, the Grizzlies packaged Stokes to the Miami Heat in the Mario Chalmers deal.
The trade and injuries to Brandan Wright and Jarell Martin opened a door for Green. With Wright and Martin out long-term with right knee soreness and a broken left foot, respectively, Green is the Grizzlies’ only active big man on the bench.
Martin wasn’t expected to see more than a handful of minutes this season, but Wright’s injury crept up slowly and won’t go away soon as The Commercial Appeal’s Ron Tillery tweeted.
The Grizzlies needed to be prepared for this considering Wright’s injury history. The seven-year pro hadn’t played 65 or more games in a season before 2014-15.
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Green saw 18 minutes against the Blazers on Friday and has played more than 20 minutes twice. As the rotation currently stands, he will get more nights of high activity.
Green hasn’t developed the offensive skills to add layers to Memphis’ second-unit offense the way Wright does. However, Green can work around the basket and clean up after misses by Jeff Green and Matt Barnes, which will be quite helpful when they have poor performances.
Defensively, JaMychal Green helps ensure the Grizzlies don’t falter with the starters off the floor. With his high energy and great awareness, Green locks down effectively. He’s been one of the Grizzlies’ most reliable defenders during a woeful stretch, allowing 105 points per 100 possessions. Opponents score 2.8 fewer points per 100 with him on the floor.
The Grizzlies are working to bounce back from a poor open to the season with a thin frontcourt rotation due to injuries, which doesn’t leave much rest for Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Green’s effective grind is everything Memphis could have hoped for from someone they found on the scrap heap.