A Lot To Like About Ja Morant’s Game

Welcome to the B-Ball Brunch. Enjoy reading about my NBA musings about last night during your brunch hours.

Ja Morant and his Grizzlies have won three straight.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Ford/USA Today.)

The Grizzlies have won three straight games, upping their record to 5-7. Besides Zion Williamson, the rookie who was getting the most pub was the second pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Ja Morant.

I remember when I asked for a Morant comparison. The answer I got was a lesser Russell Westbrook.

So I expected chaos, attempted triple-doubles, and a bad shooting percentage (especially from 3).

There is chaos. We all know Westbrook’s ferociousness when it comes to attacking the rim. Morant is the same way on the open court. They’re both meteors when it comes to driving in. That fearlessness paid off when he made that game-winner against Charlotte and the go-ahead bucket against Utah.

The thing is, though, that he knows his strengths and weaknesses. At 20 years old, that’s actually already a pretty big attribute. Morant is not known to be a great shooter, which is why he only attempts 2.2 threes per game. Yes, he’s shooting at a 41.7 percent clip but he only does so many attempts because he knows that he’s not a Stephen Curry or a Kyle Korver. Morant doesn’t want to rely on three-point shooting until he’s completely comfortable with it. And when he does, he’s going to be even more awesome.

Morant is also a really good passer. You can already see that patience when he’s running the offense. The way he changes speeds can really throw off an opponent. Before you know it, that burst happens and it’ll be a kickout to three or he’ll take it all the way in. Also, that behind-the-back move of his (whether it’s a move to the rim or a dribble to keep going) is definitely his signature move.

Obviously, there will be those growing pains. The turnovers are there (3.8 per game) and he’s not even playing 28 minutes per game yet. He had consecutive bad games earlier in the season in a blowout loss against Orlando and a close win against San Antonio.

But for the most part, he’s been very good. He’s at 18.9 points, 3.4 boards, and 6.0 assists per. And again, this is just his rookie season. We definitely expect big things from Ja in the years to come.

Bullet Passes

If you told me the Celtics and the Lakers were going to be the first teams to get to 10 wins this season, well, I MIGHT buy that a little. The Celtics weren’t exactly considered to be a top tier East team; people mainly thought those positions belonged to the Bucks and the Sixers. But this start might have opened some eyes to that team. And they’re going to do this for a while without Gordon Hayward.

The Lakers were thought of to be championship contenders but the way they have been playing is the surprise here, even though it was RIGHT in front of us. They are the top defensive team right now and are putting the hurt physically on other teams. They’ll miss Avery Bradley‘s peskiness on the perimeter for a little bit but their game against Sacramento was another defensive struggle (when a team is held under 100, that’s a huge win in 2019) that they won.

Mike Conley returned to Memphis for the first time since getting traded to Utah.

(VIDEO CREDIT: Memphis Grizzlies.)

He was the last of the Grit-N-Grind Grizzlies to go. He never became an all-star but was an important player in the franchise. Good to see him get that tribute video.

As for the game, he struggled against his old team, shooting 5 for 19 (15 points). Honestly, it is tough to keep it together and play well after seeing something like that.

The Grizzlies beat the Jazz, 107-106. Speaking of THAT game, though…

Solomon Hill reached out and poked the ball away from Donovan Mitchell to seal the win for the Grizz.

(VIDEO CREDIT: Memphis Grizzlies.)

Well, the refs swallowed their whistles. Whoops.

James Harden just keeps doing this. Another 44-point performance by the bearded one raises his scoring average to 38.7 points per game. Man…

LeBron James is in his 17th season and is 35 years old in December 30. And he’s STILL doing this.