The last two games weren’t going to make Ja Morant be more cautious.
Nope.
The Memphis Grizzlies star played on Thursday night like a player who didn’t have a conscience. But in a good way,
Morant drove to the basket with the ball in his left hand. Rookie Grizzlies center Zach Edey was running down the middle of the floor, closely behind while all of the attention was on Morant. Suddenly, Morant threw a pass off the backboard that slipped off Edey’s hands.
Think that was the wildest Morant pass of the day? Nope.
Earlier in the game, Morant was lying on the floor surrounded by Bucks players attempting to take the ball out of his hands. Morant did a couple of pumpfakes before launching an alley-oop to Santi Aldama while being seated on the floor.
“I thought that was crazy,” Grizzlies point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. said. “I don’t even know why he tried that.”
Pippen wouldn’t have attempted the second pass. Maybe not even the one to Edey, but those are the kinds of plays that make Morant special.
The star Grizzlies point guard shined on Thursday night at FedExForum. He finished with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to secure his 12th career triple-double.
The key to the the performance was “playing free,” Morant said. He didn’t second-guess the pass with Edey, to Aldama or any of the dazzling moments from Thursday’s 122-99 win.
“I play free,” Morant said. “With me, you gonna deal with turnovers. I’m always trying to make the right play.”
Morant’s performance was timely. The Grizzlies (3-3) had lost two consecutive games against teams they were favored to beat.
The locker room mood after Wednesday’s loss was disappointment, and things didn’t get better with the mounting injuries. Starters Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart left early on Wednesday, and neither was available on Thursday. The Grizzlies are currently waiting on updates that will provide more clarity on their timelines to return.
It was time for Morant to be the superstar. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins increased his minutes workload and gave him longer rotation stints. The result was Morant being plus-29 in 29 minutes.
“He’s been building up for this, and this has been kind of part of our plan that’s been rolling out,” Jenkins said. “He missed a game a couple of nights ago. This has been six (games) in nine (days), so how he responded… but at great pace. “
