Don’t blame teams for getting suckered into extra chances when there is still so much promise left for the player in question. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant, their star point guard, but a corner has been turned as they are on their best stretch of the year, while he recovers from a calf strain, and he could add much more to the mix. Others may be looking ahead, thinking what could they do without him, but the real question is, how much they would miss him if he didn’t come back?
This is a down year for Morant, in which he hasn’t bought in completely. Still, he is averaging the most amount of clean looks generated for teammates behind the 3-point line (8.2), and they are shooting 39.8 percent on those attempts. Keep in mind, that’s more than what Luka Dončić (7.5), Anthony Edwards (5.5) and Trae Young (6.4) are doing. The player on the Grizzlies averaging the next amount of 3-point looks for teammates is Vince Williams Jr. (5.9), and they shoot 40.6 percent on those passes.
One thing is certain: shooters love playing with others who buy them space, and Cedric Coward, Santi Aldama and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could benefit from another Grizzly who can absorb defenders. On top of that, Morant could have an easy living in the offense, as they’ve made the third-most passes (332.5) per game in the eight consecutive nights without him.
Considering everything that’s transpired over the years and the disappointing sound bites from the locker room this season, outsiders may be conditioned to only look at Morant’s flaws. Getting him to buy in would add turbo to the offense that plays fast without him*, and his presence would give Zach Edey another teammate who can deliver the entry pass on target as his ascension continues.
It behooves the Grizzlies for both of them to develop dependable two-man actions because Edey generates so much attention at close range, and Morant could feast on give-and-go sets.
Morant has probably heard the noise stemming from anonymous executives that he’s not what he once was. Props to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel for making this point first- the Golden State Warriors benched Tim Hardaway, and he still had plenty of juice left when he got to the Miami Heat. Imagine dealing Morant and not getting back fair value, and the prime piece coming back in the swap, leaves shortly afterward in free agency, as was the case for the Warriors when Chris Gatling bolted for Dallas. The Grizzlies would be lucky to get back as much as the Heat got for Jimmy Butler, with Andrew Wiggins being the jewel of the exchange for a joyless, aging player.
Morant elevates the team’s ceiling. It doesn’t mean they are championship ready, but they are much better than the squad that got gutted by the Heat at home by 32 digits, or the one that at one point found themselves with a 4-11 record.
They are 4.5 games out of the sixth seed, and getting there would bypass the Play-In Tournament. Doing that is a necessity if they have aspirations for more in April. Perhaps Morant can help them get there.