Ja Morant didn’t want to get fined, so he paused.
The words in the mind of the Memphis Grizzlies star didn’t match the ones he uttered out his mouth seconds later when recapping his performance on Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers
“I be thinking smart now,” Morant said. “I need my money. Christmas here.”
If that wasn’t enough of a hint into Morant’s frustrations with officiating, he offered one more.
“My showers hurt, though, by the way,” Morant said. “Y’all can put two-and-two together on that.”
Morant’s words confirmed the expectation when playing a Clippers team that prides themselves on physicality. When teams play with that extra edge of physicality, the roles of officials become even more important.
That physicality weighed on the Grizzlies in a 114-110 loss to the Clippers. The Grizzlies (20-10) outrebounded the Clippers (17-13) overall, but Ivica Zubac gave them trouble.
He finished the night with 20 points and 20 rebounds. Nine of those were offensive rebounds.
Some of the Grizzlies’ most recent losses in their stretch of hot play has come against teams with a similar pattern. The Clippers, Lakers and Mavericks are the only teams to beat the Grizzlies in their last 15 games. Neither of those teams are known for playing at an extraordinary pace, and they all have bigs who impose their will on games with activity on the boards.
“Obviously, he had a lot of success tonight, so we have to do our work earlier – maybe changingsome coverages or something like that, but just a little bit better one-on-one defense,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. take responsibility
Morant didn’t have his typical night on Monday. He finished the game with 23 points on 7-for-21 shooting and six turnovers, including a key one in the final minute.
“I got to be better,” Morant said. “Simple.”
He wasn’t alone in shoulder the blame. Jaren Jackson Jr., who has arguably been the Grizzlies’ most consistent player this season, was visibly frustrated after the loss.
Jackson shot 9-for-26 overall and missed four of his nine three throws. He started the game by making half of his first 10 shots and appeared to be the mismatch problem against the Clippers.
The Clippers adjusted defensive and caused Jackson to shoot 31.3% on his last 16 shots.
“I feel like it’s on me for sure,” Jackson said. “… I just think throughout the game, I just got to be more effective and efficient, so we can have a chance to win.”
Good playoff prep? Depends on who you ask
The Clippers’ style of play is a closer example to how most teams will play in the playoffs. They played methodical and physical.
The Grizzlies haven’t had many tests that prepare them for those styles and late-game scenarios. Was this game helpful in that regard? Well, it depends on who you ask.
Morant and Jackson simply think the Grizzlies have to play better. Morant pointed to his turnovers, and Jackson said him “missing everything” was why the team lost.
Desmond Bane called the opportunity to be in a crunch-time situation against a good team “huge.”
“They definitely play a playoff brand of basketball,” Bane said. “It definitely felt like a playoff type game.”
Pippen agreed.
“You kind of want to run into these games early, so you can build that late-game chemistry and late-game rhythm,” Pippen said. “We haven’t had too many close games like that. Whenever we’re able to win those I feel like we feel a lot better, but definitely a lot of learning experiences throughout these games.”
