De'Anthony Melton of the Memphis Grizzlies

The mysterious De’Anthony Melton

Coming into the season, and after the trade with Phoenix, true basketball savants knew De’Anthony Melton would be good. However, no one predicted that he’d be this productive this season. He’s in the 93rd or higher percentile in every defensive metric. Of any Grizzly duo that’s played 200 or more minutes, he’s in the top 5 with four different players. Per Cleaning the Glass, the team is a whopping 21 points better with him on the court than off.

Melton’s play has been an awesome development, and it’s quietly raising questions about if he should be a cornerstone going forward.

Read the full story at GrizzlyBearBlues.com.

De'Anthony Melton of the Memphis Grizzlies

De’Anthony Melton Has Been An Unexpected, But Key, Find For The Grizzlies

The Grizzlies are ahead of schedule from where they are supposed to be. Per FiveThirtyEight, they have a 13% chance of making the playoffs. That’s 10th in the Western Conference, so they aren’t exactly favorites to make the playoffs. But about halfway through the season, Memphis currently has better odds than the eternally in playoffs Spurs or the Karl-Anthony Towns-led Timberwolves. That’s simply a better place than the Grizzlies could have hoped to be in.

There are two main reasons for that. First and foremost: Ja Morant is incredible. He is the clear Rookie of the Year favorite, assuming Zion Williamson doesn’t go full Thanos on the rest of the NBA when he returns. Jaren Jackson Jr. is also very good and an entirely unique player in year two. Taylor Jenkins also deserves credit and Brandon Clarke looks like a keeper too.

Read the full story at Forbes.com.

De'Anthony Melton is Building Momentum

De’Anthony Melton is building momentum

Compared to other additions the Memphis Grizzlies made this summer, De’Anthony Melton was best described as a lottery ticket to take a chance on. Acquired from the Suns in exchange for Kyle Korver and Jevon Carter, Melton was viewed as an intriguing prospect more than a player that would make an instant impact. In fact, it was the impressive play of the other player that the Grizzlies acquired with Melton, Josh Jackson, that created significant buzz for some at the beginning of the season.

For the first quarter of the season, Melton was buried on the bench as Taylor Jenkins and his coaching staff were figuring out how to best utilize their roster. He played in just seven of the Grizzlies first 18 games, and only played double-digit minutes twice. However, as injuries began to limit roster options, Jenkins had little choice but to feature Melton in a bigger role. Now that he had his chance, Melton hit the floor running with every intention to take advantage of his opportunity.

Read the full story at GrizzlyBearBlues.com.