Cameron Boozer’s Shooting Nightmare Costs Grizzlies Against Pacers

Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward Cameron Boozer struggled through one of his worst shooting nights of the young season in Wednesday’s 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Boozer finished with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, including 2-of-5 from three-point range.

He also committed four turnovers in 33 minutes of play.

His six rebounds and four assists helped salvage some fantasy value, but the lack of efficient scoring limited his overall impact.

The game dropped his season field-goal percentage to 36.4 percent through eight appearances.

That ranks as the lowest field-goal percentage among all rookies who have played at least five games this season.

Boozer is averaging 17.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, numbers that have kept him in the early Rookie of the Year conversation.

But his shooting efficiency has emerged as a clear weakness.

He is converting just 36.7 percent of his three-point attempts, which is slightly below league average.

His true shooting percentage — a metric that accounts for threes and free throws — sits at 55.4 percent.

That figure is buoyed by his 94.4 percent free-throw shooting and his willingness to take 6.1 threes per game.

Without those factors, his overall efficiency would be significantly lower.

Boozer’s two-point shooting has been the primary concern.

He is making well under 40 percent of his attempts inside the arc, a number that does not appear in standard box scores but has drawn attention from advanced analytics trackers.

The Grizzlies selected Boozer with the second overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft out of Duke.

He entered the league with a reputation as a polished offensive forward who could score at all three levels.

His college numbers at Duke included 18.9 points per game on 52.3 percent shooting.

Wednesday’s loss dropped Memphis to 6-2 on the season, still good for second place in the Western Conference.

The Grizzlies have relied heavily on Boozer’s all-around production, even as his scoring efficiency has fluctuated.

Head coach Taylor Jenkins has not publicly expressed concern about Boozer’s shooting slump.

The rookie has played at least 30 minutes in seven of eight games, indicating the coaching staff still trusts him on the floor.

Boozer’s usage rate remains high at 24.1 percent, meaning he is taking a significant share of the team’s shots.

His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4 is below average for a primary playmaker.

He has turned the ball over at least three times in four of his last five games.

Defensively, Boozer has been solid but not spectacular, averaging 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game.

The Pacers game marked the fourth consecutive outing in which Boozer shot below 40 percent from the field.

He shot 5-of-14 against New Orleans on November 2, 4-of-13 against Brooklyn on October 30, and 6-of-16 against Golden State on October 28.

Over that four-game stretch, he is shooting 19-of-57 from the floor, a 33.3 percent clip.

Memphis’ next game is Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Boozer will face a Mavericks defense that ranks 12th in opponent field-goal percentage.

His Rookie of the Year competition includes Golden State Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who is averaging 21.5 points on 63.8 percent true shooting.

Lendeborg scored 37 points against the Clippers on November 2, the most by a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010.

Sacramento Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr. is averaging 23.1 points and 7.2 assists and could enter the conversation if the Kings start winning.

Washington Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa, the first overall pick, has scored 19, 17 and 21 points in his first three games after missing the first four with an ankle injury.

Boozer’s counting stats — 17.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists — still compare favorably with any rookie not named Lendeborg.

His rebounding rate of 13.2 boards per 36 minutes leads all rookies.

His assist rate of 5.6 per game ranks second among rookie forwards.

But the shooting efficiency gap is widening.

Among rookies with at least 100 field-goal attempts, Boozer ranks last in field-goal percentage.

The NBA Rookie of the Year award historically favors scoring efficiency and team success.

Memphis is 6-2, which helps Boozer’s case if the season ended today.

But eight games is a small sample size.

The Grizzlies were not projected to be a top Western Conference team in preseason rankings.

If Memphis regresses toward the mean, Boozer’s counting stats will face closer scrutiny.

His three-point shooting has been a bright spot.

He is making 2.3 threes per game on 6.1 attempts, a volume that ranks second among rookies.

His free-throw shooting is elite at 94.4 percent, which suggests his shooting mechanics are sound.

The question is whether his two-point struggles are a slump or a sign of a deeper issue.

NBA scouts have noted that Boozer often settles for contested mid-range jumpers rather than attacking the rim.

His shot chart shows he takes 38 percent of his attempts from 10 to 18 feet, a high rate for a forward his size.

At Duke, he shot 48 percent from that range.

In the NBA, that number has dropped to 32 percent.

Opponents are also closing out harder on his three-point attempts, forcing him into off-balance twos.

The Pacers game was a microcosm of the season so far.

Boozer started strong, scoring six points in the first quarter on 3-of-5 shooting.

He went 1-of-9 the rest of the way.

His four turnovers included two offensive fouls and a pass that sailed out of bounds.

Indiana’s defense, ranked 15th in the league, did not double-team him or show any special scheme.

They simply played him straight up and contested his shots at the rim.

Boozer attempted only two shots in the paint in the second half.

He took five jumpers from 12 feet and beyond.

After the game, Boozer did not speak to reporters, per team policy.