Cameron Boozer's NBA preseason debut showed a terrifying evolution of his game

Monday night brought the NBA preseason debut of former Duke star Cameron Boozer. With the regular season just two weeks away, the Memphis Grizzlies played their first of four preseason games on Monday in Atlanta against the Hawks.

And in his preseason debut, Boozer looks to have already added something to his bag that's going to make him all the more difficult to stop.

Boozer's first bucket came three and a half minutes into the first quarter. He got a one-on-one opportunity in the post. With the whole world expecting Boozer to play "bully ball", he slammed into the defender - former Duke forward Jalen Johnson - and then spun off to the right with a post fadeaway that was straight cash:

That's new to his bag, and it just made his offensive game all the more difficult to stop. If he can hit that shot, what exactly do you do? Because he can get to the rim from that spot, too. Now he can hit a post fade. And if you double him, you're playing right into his hand because he's a great passer with elite court vision and feel. He's going to find the open man.

Good luck.

Cameron Boozer had a strong NBA preseason debut for the Memphis Grizzlies

Unsurprisingly, Boozer had a strong all-around game in his preseason debut. He started and played 18 minutes with the Grizzlies divvying out minutes to 18 different players. In the 132-123 win, Boozer put up a stat line of 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Three of his five rebounds were offensive.

You can see the former Duke star's full highlights below:

Boozer is already showing how difficult a matchup he's going to be at the next level. If you guard him with a typical NBA PF, he'll be too big and too strong for them. If you counter and use a center on him defensively, he's going to pull that big out of the paint and bring him to the perimeter, where Boozer's floor spacing will shine, and his quickness will allow him to get by off the bounce.

He's truly a pick-your-poison offensive player. He can beat you in a plethora of ways, and he's already learning counters to help him in the NBA. That post fade was not something he had in his bag during his time with the Blue Devils. That's a scary development.

Boozer and the Grizzlies will be back on the court on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic for their second of four preseason games, this one coming in front of the home crowd in Memphis at the FedEx Forum.

The Grizzlies will open the regular season on October 21st at home against the Utah Jazz, with Boozer going head-to-head with No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson.

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