Tuomas Iisalo: Javon Small’s a very different player than he was in October

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo praised the development of two-way rookie Javon Small following Friday’s 117-112 home loss vs. the Boston Celtics (13 points/5 rebounds/2 assists/5-8 FG/2-4 3-PT/1-1 FT/+16 +/-).

*averaging 15.7 PPG/1.3 ORB/3.0 DRB/4.3 APG/1.7 TOV/1.0 SPG/2.2 PF/53.3% FG/52.9% 2-PT/53.8% 3-PT/88.9% FT/65.0% eFG/25.8 MPG/+1.8 +/- over his last six games*

(via Memphis Grizzlies):

“He’s a very different player than he was at the start of the season as a young guy coming into the league and being thrown in the deep end. He’s worked very hard together with his individual coach, and they’ve been putting the work in and he listens. He always shows up. He never complains, anything. Even we have to pull him out sometimes that he doesn’t work too much. And defensively, he’s improved tremendously. He’s using his physical attributes way better. He’s getting after it. He’s more active.

“He’s learned offensively something that was a little foreign to him: to combine, let’s say, pushing the pace and then also having control over the other team, getting everybody organized, not just himself. The point guard position’s very important. And at the same time, he’s developed in a lot of other aspects, too. He has been one of the best pull-up three-point shooters in the whole league this season and [a] very efficient pick-and-roll player. So there’s a lot to like there, and it’s all due to his hard work.”