Memphis Grizzlies: A closer look at the 3-point shooting struggles

The Memphis Grizzlies rank 28th in the league in 3-point percentage. Let’s take a closer look at their struggles from long range.

The NBA has taken a very obvious shift toward being a more 3-point centric league. Teams are launching from long range like never before, and even big men are venturing beyond the line to take some 3s. Analytics tells us how valuable the 3-point shot is, so teams are doing whatever they can to be better at shooting the long ball. The Memphis Grizzlies are no exception.

Unfortunately for Memphis, that shot has not been falling. Through 35 games, the Grizz rank 28th in the league in 3-point percentage, knocking down just 34.2 percent of their 3s as a team. For reference, the league average is 36.3 percent, meaning that that team makes 2.1 percent fewer 3-pointers than the average team.

The first noticeable problem can be seen when looking at the percentage of their 3-pointers that are assisted. Assisted shots tend to be easier, as they can be in a variety of beneficial situations; off a screen, catch-and-shoot, just moving off the ball in general and then receiving a pass all tend to be an advantage for the offensive player. As such, assisted shots tend to have a higher chance of going in. The Grizzlies are 22nd in the league in percentage of made 3-pointers that are assisted, meaning that their attempts are harder than others.

You can see their hard attempts if you look more closely. They rank 23rd in the league in 3-point attempts that are classified as “open” on NBA.com, meaning that the team struggles to find open looks from beyond the arc. Even worse is that on these “open” attempts, the Grizzlies are shooting just 34.3 percent — a porous mark on open looks.

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You could be happy that Memphis ranks sixth in the league in wide open 3-point attempts, but they are only shooting 36.2 percent on these shots. It is promising that they are able to get good looks. It is not promising that their wide-open 3-point percentage is below the league average in general from downtown.

Who’s to blame? Who knows. There could be a variety of factors and culprits. The extended absence of Mike Conley certainly makes getting assists and open looks for others harder. But Conley can be blamed in another manner too; his 31.2 3-point percentage this season is a career-low for him by over 1.5 percent. He can’t hit the broad side of a barn from outside the arc.

Ban McLemore, highly touted as a shooter coming out of Kansas, is shooting 31.5 percent from deep, which is a career-low as well. The Memphis Grizzlies brought him in to be a shooter, so it has to be disappointing for the front office to see him struggle.

Outside of Conley, the other star is struggling from deep as well. Marc Gasol, a career 34.2 percent 3-point marksman, is currently shooting 32.9 percent, his career-low in high-volume shooting seasons, albeit a small sample of just two seasons.

If you want to point fingers at one individual for being significantly worse than expected, I would point toward Mario Chalmers. Chalmers used to be an assassin from 3-point land, hitting in the high 30s/low 40s in percentage. This season, he is knocking down a dismal 25.8 percent of his long bombs, by far his career-low, and he is taking three attempts from outside per game. If he can’t finish those shots, he should probably stop taking them.

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Ball movement, the return of Conley, and general luck should help these 3s fall for the Memphis Grizzlies. But for now, the lack of outside shooting is a huge hindrance to their offense and a significant reason for their struggles. Let’s hope they can turn it around sooner rather than later.