In a league conditioned to spotlight stars, Tuomas Iisalo has been careful to redirect attention toward the connective tissue holding the Memphis Grizzlies together. After a victory over the LA Clippers, the first-year NBA head coach did so once again, framing backup point guard Cam Spencer as a Stephen Curry-like “engine” not in volume or celebrity, but in gravity, pace, and decision-making.
This is not a new development, as Spencer has been great while Ja Morant healed up.
“Yeah, not just tonight,” Iisalo asserted. “I think I said two weeks ago that I'm very surprised more people aren't talking about him. He's been just tremendous.”
Tremendous indeed. Over the past two games, the 25-year-old has gone 13-for-16 from three-point range, part of a broader surge that has seen him connect on 35 of 55 attempts (63.6%) across the last 10 contests. During that 7-3 stretch for the Grizzlies, the 24-year-old has averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game.
For Iisalo, Spencer’s Stephen Curry-level efficiency is a case study in system synergy over individual glorification. He argued that Spencer’s success is fundamentally tied to the functionality of the Grizzlies’ second unit, which has become one of the league’s most potent bench mobs.
“I have noticed there's a tendency in the NBA to talk about the individual and what the individual is doing,” Iisalo noted. “But if you would ask Cam, he would be the first one to say that because the unit is very functional that they're playing (well). He loves playing with those guys.”
Spencer's evolution from spot-up specialist to on-ball orchestrator has fundamentally altered his NBA trajectory. It's bringing out the best in everyone's selfless approach to the game.
“Jock is setting great screens for him, Vince is opening up spots for him on the perimeter,” detailed Iisalo. “Even Santi Aldama, they're having a lot of fun playing. Cam happens to be the engine in that unit.”
However, that engine had to be rebuilt over the summer.
Grizzlies gas up Cam Spencer
An offseason overhaul now has the UConn alum shifting through the offense with a higher-tuned gearbox. Spencer’s shooting bends coverage, forcing defenses to chase him above the break and opening lanes for others. The difference now is that he can punish overreactions with the ball in his hands.
“(Spencer) is a lot of times tasked with the on-ball duties and that's something he hadn't really done before this summer,” Iisalo explained. “He's one of those guys who's expanded his skill set and carved out a different type of niche.”
From shooting specialist to the decision-making engine of a surging unit, Cam Spencer’s story is no longer one of being overlooked. It’s a revelation gaining value in the NBA Most Improved Player and trade markets every day, not that the Grizzlies would give him up this season.
“His value in terms of the league is completely different because (Spencer) was a shooting specialist, an off-ball shooter. Now he's a guy who can make decisions on-ball; you can play him next to another handler,” Iisalo said. “That has really, really broadened his skill set, and Cam is doing a really, really high-level job right now.”
The ultimate proof is that Spencer can no longer be ignored and is actually a highlighted name on whiteboards now.
“I bet he is a feature player right now on the opposing scouting reports,” Iisalo suggested. “That says a lot about him.”
For a Grizzlies team navigating more injury scares from Ja Morant and Zach Edey, Cam Spencer’s rise has been both stabilizing and catalytic. He may not command the spotlight, but like the model he increasingly resembles in function, his presence changes the geometry of the floor and, increasingly, the outcomes on the scoreboard.
