Ja Morant is having one hell of a season for the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite injury issues early in the year, Memphis has done a good job of staying toward the upper half of the West with a 9-5 record heading into this game. They are one of the most polished teams in the NBA right now and Morant is their featured star on a team with depth and arguably one of the best backcourts in the NBA.
Despite Morant emerging to win Most Improved Player last season and remaining in the MVP conversation this season, Charles Barkley decided to cast aspersions over how far he can take the Grizz by saying Morant doesn’t make his teammates better. This was after the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Grizz and made the record 9-6 through the first 15 games.
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“The next evolution for Ja is that he’s gotta learn how to make the players around him better. When you’re a great player, you can get your shot anytime you want to. I don’t think he’s added that to his game yet. Sometimes when you make a play, you gotta be thinking, ‘I can go around this guy but I need to get this guy going’.”
Morant is averaging 29.3 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.2 rebounds through 13 games this season. He has started the season as a 40% 3-point shooter. If that is something that holds steady through the season, the Grizzlies are a massive threat and Ja has the capability of being one of the best players in the league.
Are The Memphis Grizzlies Actual Contenders?
Despite the Grizzlies being in possession of the second-best record in the league last season, nobody picked them to go and win the championship. They had a tough series against the Minnesota Timberwolves before being eliminated by eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors, in the second round while suffering from injuries.
They are having a strong regular season yet again and have seen the emergence of Desmond Bane as an All-Star caliber player. The team is still very young but there’s a chance that they could be the best team in the West at the end of the playoffs given how closely matched the Conference is this season.
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