Memphis Grizzlies: 5 goals for Ben McLemore in 2017-18

3. Get all the way to the rim, or pass the ball

McLemore is an extremely efficient finisher within three feet of the rim. He put in 64.8 percent of his shot attempts from that distance last year, and boasts a 66.7 percent mark for his career.

Unfortunately, his efficiency drops substantially in the 3-10 feet and 10-16 feet ranges. He hit on just 31.3 and 24.0 percent of shots from those ranges, respectively. It’s not realistic to think that McLemore will cut such shots out of his game entirely, but he should focus on reducing them.

Memphis Grizzlies

That likely means improving as a passer. McLemore has never been known as much of a facilitator, but if he wants to grow into a more well-rounded offensive player, he’ll have to at least develop the ability to know when it’s time to use a drive to assault the hoop, and when it’s time to kick the ball back out to a teammate.

Those decisions need to be made in fractions of seconds, and it’s reasonable for a young player who’s still adjusting to the pace of NBA basketball to struggle with them. Chucking up a bad shot is a better outcome than throwing the ball to the other team, and in that sense McLemore may deserve some credit. He’s never had much of an issue with turnovers.

The worse of two bad options is still not a good result though, and McLemore has had enough years of experience to adjust to the speed of the NBA.

If he can move forward as a passer and decision-maker, it will make his special ability at the rim all the more valuable, and transfer the stress of split-second decision-making back onto opponents. That’s simple, but meaningful. We’ll assess this goal by looking at the number of shots McLemore takes from 3-16 feet, with a target of it being less than 13.0 percent of his total shot profile.