Chris Clemons is short for an NBA player. Average-sized for a normal American, and gigantic compared to the average Guatemalan, but for an NBA player? Midget. The only player as midgety as him that’s currently playing (shoutout to Kay Felder and Tyler Ulis) is the one-and-only Isaiah Thomas.
But for some reason, Clemons doesn’t seem as short as those other really short dudes. Is it the hair? There is an essence of verticality to his hair that might increase my perception of his height. Plus, the way he chucks shots without remorse adds to his perceived size; short players don’t normally chuck unapologetically because they can’t get their shot off easily. That might be part of it, but the other part of it is that he barely goes into the paint so you don’t seem him next to all the bigs very often.
Clemons has taken 45 threes this year, and only 9 two-pointers. That’s, uh, pretty nuts. He is shooting over 40 percent on threes, so he might as well keep taking them until they stop going in. And that might take a while, because since he’s basically a garbage-time only player right now, he’s never going to be facing the elite PG defenders of the league. Marcus Smart and Patrick Beverley aren’t going to be out there while he is. Trae Young might be, as in this game, and yes, I’m including him in the “elite PG defenders” category. Don’t believe the common narratives, people. Think for yourselves.