In the lead up to the 2019 NBA Draft, Brandon Clarke was a polarizing subject. The Gonzaga big man performed at an obscenely impressive rate at the college level but, at the same time, Clarke’s lack of traditional measurables and advanced age led many to tangible skepticism about his ultimate NBA destiny.
Clarke isn’t lighting the world on fire as a professional in the opening weeks but, in short, he’s doing Brandon Clarke stuff. The 23-year-old entered Sunday in the 86th percentile among NBA players in block rate and the 75th percentile in steal rate, living up to his impressive defensive benchmarks as a college player. Offensively, Clarke is scoring at a highly efficient rate (66.0 percent true shooting) and his 22.6 PER leads all qualified rookies.
The Memphis Grizzlies rookie also put together a 7-for-7 shooting effort against Minnesota last week, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds in only 22 minutes of action. Clarke isn’t the most high-profile member of his own frontcourt in a world that includes Jaren Jackson Jr., but, in a small sample size, the Grizzlies are 5.2 points per 100 possessions better with Clarke on the floor than when he is on the bench. That backs up the eye test and, while Clarke may never be a star at the next level, he already looks the part of a high-end role player with room to grow.
Where does Clarke stack up in this week’s rookie watch? Let’s explore.
Honorable Mentions
- Darius Garland – Garland is seventh among rookies in minutes played and the production will come. At the moment, he’s shooting 33 percent from the floor and that makes everything difficult.
- De’Andre Hunter – Hunter was featured in a bigger way on Sunday against the Blazers but he’ll need to make more shots in order to rise up the ranks. On the bright side, he’s the rare rookie that isn’t a defensive liability.
- Matisse Thybulle – Thybulle’s offensive numbers are cringe-worthy. His defensive numbers are eye-popping. I don’t know what you’re supposed to do with that.
- Coby White – White and Garland are facing similar issues. They have defined workloads and woeful efficiency. It’s still early.
10) Cameron Johnson
It’s a bit weird to have Johnson ahead of someone like Hunter, with the latter playing more than 150 minutes more than the former. Still, Johnson’s jump shot is already playing up at a high level. The former UNC product can claim a three-point percentage north of 40 percent and a true shooting clip of more than 60 percent. Even in a small sample, there is big value there.
9) Rui Hachimura
Hachimura is fourth among rookies in scoring and third in rebounding. That’s a good start, even with efficiency and defensive questions for the top-10 pick.
8) Goga Bitadze
It’s only 109 minutes of action but Bitadze leads all rookies in BPM with top-10 marks in rebounding, true shooting percentage, PER and other positive metrics. Honestly, his placement on this list will be directly tied to playing time. Goga is good.
7) Tyler Herro
As long as Herro is making 37 percent of his three-point attempts, there is a role for him on a playoff-bound team. That’s not a bad place to be, even if there will be hot and cold moments for the former Kentucky sniper.
6) Kendrick Nunn
Nunn and Herro will be competing for the spotlight and that takes away some attention from each of them. After a rousing start, Nunn has fallen off in the last four games, shooting only 34 percent and averaging single digits in scoring.
5) RJ Barrett
Barrett is playing more than 35 minutes per game. It really makes it difficult to evaluate him alongside his fellow rookies through that prism but the questions about Barrett are still there. He’s stuffing the stat sheet without impressive efficiency.
4) Brandon Clarke
Clarke leads all rookies in estimated wins added to go along with everything else. He might be too low on this list.
3) P.J. Washington
In part due to his circumstance as part of a rather anonymous Hornets team, Washington has been overlooked to this point, at least in some circles. That’s silly, though, as the former Kentucky standout has been utterly fantastic in the early going. He is shooting 51 percent from the floor, 49 (!) percent from three and doing quality work at both ends. If this continues, he’s a legitimate sleeper in the ROY race, at least among voters that will consider overall efficiency.
2) Eric Paschall
The No. 41 overall pick isn’t supposed to average 15.6 points per game for the Golden State Warriors. That’s not a thing. It’s a thing right now for Paschall.
1) Ja Morant
Morant is the only choice for the top spot, even while acknowledging the other strong performances in this class. He leads all rookies in scoring (17.8 points) and assists (5.2 per game) while putting up 46/44/74 shooting. Defense is going to be an issue at times and Morant is going to cool off as a shooter, but he’s carrying a large workload and doing it in style.
