Ben McLemore shows flashes of brilliance. Behind-the-back passes. Highlight reel dunks. Arching 3-point attempts that look perfect out of his hand.
And then there are the disappearing acts. The struggles to defend. The suspect hands and the ever evolving handles. He is a true project, but one with an incredible upside and a work ethic to match.
But can he improve enough to be a frontline starter on a playoff team? Can he find a way to average 12 points per game without scoring 18 one night and six the next? That is hopefully what we will find out in year three.
At 22-years-old, McLemore is still an infant in NBA terms. He has plenty of time to grow and the Sacramento Kings have the option to own his rookie scale contract for another two seasons at $3.1 million and $4 million. The Kings also have a $5.3 million qualifying offer for the 2017-18 season if he hasn’t been extended before then.
Strengths
McLemore is an elite athlete with shooting touch and a drive to succeed. Known as a gym rat, the trick for the former Kansas star is to build up his skill set to an NBA level.
After an abysmal shooting percentage in his rookie season, McLemore found a rhythm in year two. There is plenty of room for improvement, but the speedy shooting guard shot 43.7 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from behind the arc. Those numbers represent a 6.1 percent increase in overall field goal percentage and a 3.8 percent increase from three over his rookie campaign.
The shot chart shows an interesting trend. McLemore shoots the ball much better on the right side of the court from long range where he is often the beneficiary of either a skip pass from Cousins or a kick out off the dribble drive. 91.4 percent of McLemore’s 3-point attempts were assisted. He needs work as a catch-and-shoot player and his 36 percent on jump shots has to improve.
McLemore shot 71.1 percent at the rim and 90.9 percent on dunks. His ability to get out on the break and finish is elite and he improved as a slasher down the stretch. He is never going to be a conventional playmaker, but as he improves his ball handling skills, his speed and quickness may open up lanes for others.
His defensive statistics are puzzling to say the least. McLemore held his opponent in check for the season, allowing the opposition to shoot exactly to their average shooting percentage on the season. Even more shocking is the fact that McLemore held his opponent to 32.8 percent shooting from long range, 3.1 percent below average.
McLemore is a very good teammate. He’s unselfish, puts in the time to improve and wants nothing more than to succeed. He is also durable, playing in all 164 games over his first two seasons in the league.
Weaknesses
Most of McLemore’s issues stem from his limited experience as a basketball player. While he is a hard worker, he needs coaching and needs to play as much as possible.
On the season, McLemore posted a PER of just 10.4, despite being a major cog in the Kings’ system. That low number was due to his inability to affect the game outside of his scoring. His 2.9 rebounds per game placed him in 29th in the league for a shooting guard and his 1.7 assists was good enough for 38th.
From 3-10 feet, McLemroe shot just 29.4 percent from the field. George Karl’s system hates shots in this range and it’s likely that he will take fewer than the 102 that he took this year. The coaching staff continued to work on McLemore’s shot balance and even attempted to add a floater.
On the defensive end, McLemore struggled for long stints. In his rookie season he played like he was on roller skates. This year, his lack of strength hurt him. While the raw numbers don’t look horrible, McLemore struggled on his rotations and is still trying to understand passing lanes. If he can add some weight and the game continues to slow down, he can be a plus defender in the league.
2015-16 Projection
McLemore took a huge leap in year two but his inconsistent play really hurt the Kings. In their 29 wins, the high-flying wing shot 48 percent from the field and in their 53 losses, that number dropped to 41.6 percent.
Barring a substantial trade offer, he will likely open the season as the Kings’ starting shooting guard. But he will be on a short leash as the Kings search for knock-down shooters and more playmaking from the shooting guard position.
McLemore finished the final month of the season strong, averaging 16.1 points, 3.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 33.4 minutes a game. Over that stretch, he shot 49.1 percent from the field and 1.8 steals per contest as he acclimated to Karl’s system. If that is the player the Kings get next season, their search for an answer at the shooting guard position is over.
Cowbell Kingdom would like your opinion. How do you grade McLemore’s season?
[poll id=”72″]This is part four of our continuing “Season in Review” series. Below are links to the first three articles.
Statistical data complied from NBA.com and Basketball-reference.com.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
