(This story was updated with new information.)

Ja Morant’s frustration was visible.

The Memphis Grizzlies star struggled against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 31, finishing with eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. The Grizzlies lost 117-112 at FedExForum after holding a 14-point lead at halftime.

After the game, Morant didn’t have much to say, but he didn’t appear happy with the Grizzlies’ coaching staff.

When Morant was asked what went wrong and if he could have done anything differently, his response was short, but pointed.

“Go ask the coaching staff,” Morant said. “Go ask him. They had a whole spill in here.”

When he was asked about his energy, he shared another pointed response.

“Go ask the coaching staff why,” he said.

And again, when Morant was asked if he believed he should have played more, he gave a similar response.

Morant finished with 31 minutes played. The Grizzlies have used short substitution patterns this season that can sometimes interrupt the flow of players. Pace has been prioritized over playing long stretches.

After answering questions with a similar response for 40 seconds, Morant was asked if he noticed anything else in the game. His answer was again targeted at the Grizzlies’ coaching staff.

“According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly,” Morant said. “That’s basically what the message was. It’s cool.”

Inside the locker room

The Grizzlies’ locker room was quiet and empty. Grizzlies co-star Jaren Jackson Jr. walked over to Morant’s locker to have a word, then went to another area of the room that was not visible to media members.

While Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo seemed to be one of the targets of Morant’s frustration, he did not field questions from local reporters after the game.

We didn’t get to ask the coach. Ja was ready to speak quickly. Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo was not in the press conference room initially when Ja was ready to talk. After Ja’s 55-second interview, we walked to the press conference room. Iisalo was walking out as we came in.

— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) November 1, 2025What went wrong vs Lakers

Morant’s frustration was visible early in the game. He didn’t look as aggressive. He finished the game shooting 3-for-14 and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. His eight points were his lowest total since Dec. 5, 2024.

Morant subbed into the game in the fourth quarter with 5:33 left. At that point, he looked disinterested. He recorded one assist and did not take another shot. This comes after Morant just closed out an Oct. 29 game against the Phoenix Suns with the game-winning basket.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.