Memphis Grizzlies: 5 takeaways from the first week of preseason

3. Chandler Parsons is on the court

Chandler Parsons hasn’t shot the ball well from deep, but he’s been on the court for two consecutive games, and that’s not something that could be said of him for much of the past three seasons of his career. He doesn’t look all that bad either.

Parsons has been pump-faking his way into the lane, making smart decisions about when to attack the hoop and when to pass, and finding opportunities to exploit mismatches in the post and at the elbow when opponents switch guards on to him. He’s even been all right on defense, and did I mention that he played in two consecutive games?

I’m being a bit cheeky here, but Parsons was abjectly horrible last year. Not being awful would be a big step forward, and the early signs are encouraging. Not that he is going to suddenly blossom into the star that Memphis hoped it was signing last summer, but that he can be a positive contributor and a regular rotation piece.

He’ll have to recover his stroke from beyond the arc to fill that type of role in the most effective way possible. A shooter’s base is all in his legs. Parsons needs to regain full confidence in his knees to shore up his foundation. That should come with time and reps.