NBA Preseason: Breaking Down Jake LaRavia’s First NBA Action

Breakdown of Jake LaRavia’s five-game preseason stint with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies surprised some by selecting Jake LaRavia with No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but with their recent draft history you had to wonder if they had found another undervalued prospect in the 6-foot-7 forward out of Wake Forest.

LaRavia, while only shooting 4-of-20 in four preseason games, should immediately provide shooting and floor spacing to an NBA floor. The shooting form looks good and he was a career thirty-seven percent shooter in college.

Most impressive was his off the ball movements to get open looks. He is very good at lifting from the corner to the wing on the weak side while a ball screen is happening or hammering from the wing to the corner when the ball enters the paint.

Something to monitor throughout his rookie season, and beyond, is how efficient he is knocking down shots off screens. If he can develop an ability to run off pindowns, staggereds, and baseline triples it would add great value to that all around 3-point shooting ability.

The efficient 3-point shot also opens up the rest of his current offensive package. Forcing defenders to overplay on those screens creates an opportunity to go backdoor and get a shot in the lane.

This also forces defenders to close out hard in catch and shoot situations which LaRavia leverages into drives to the rim. While not a high level athlete, or isolation creator, he is able to straight-line drive off these opportunities and finish with craftiness at the rim. Specifically, his use of the euro-step and extended finishes stand out.

The Pasadena, CA native will have to continue to develop a tighter handle and ability to create for others to have a more well rounded offensive game. He had just five total assists with seven turnovers in these four preseason games.

On the defensive end, LaRavia does show really good activity and effort. He is going to struggle on the ball early in his career and it will be interesting to see what position he ends up guarding most often.

There are two overwhelming areas of growth for him on this end of the floor. First, he has a tendency to reach, which can lead to steals and forced turnovers at times, which led to eleven fouls in 86 minutes or 4.5 fouls per 36 minutes.

Second, you have to appreciate someone that is willing to be such a helper off the ball. With that said, there were far too many examples in a four game stretch of him over helping to the point of giving his man a clean look from beyond the arc.

LaRavia will be able to provide value on an NBA floor in his rookie season, but with a very talented Memphis Grizzlies roster it will be interesting to see how much he gets a chance to show this season. 

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