When looking at summer stats, it’s rarely easy to tell which are legitimate and which are mere mirages under the desert sun. In the case of No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer, though, this sort of felt like a lot of what Grizzlies fans can expect to see during the regular season.
He didn’t go wildly out of his way to fill out his stat line with 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 stocks (steals plus blocks). He found a lot of those numbers within the flow of the game, either orchestrating offensive sets or serving as a play-finisher.
The polish, the production, the poise—these were all expected, and they all translated. He always stayed active on the glass (six-plus boards in every outing) and kept the ball moving on offense (three-plus assists in every game), and he leaned on his instincts to serve as a defensive playmaker.
His shooting rates were maybe the one disappointment (45.2 percent overall, 33.3 percent from three), and he had some trouble against bigger defenders around the basket. By and large, though, he checked the boxes folks wanted to see. And, as per usual, he just found a way to win, helping Memphis reach the championship game in Vegas.
