Ja Morant is buying tickets for 250 fans to Friday’s Grizzlies game. It was a sign that the wait was finally over: Ja would soon be getting a warm welcome back from a month-long absence. While it’s a welcome party for Morant’s return, it’s also a litmus test.
The Grizzlies have said they are no longer waiting for the past to return. By moving Desmond Bane to acquire a slew of assets rather than doubling down on a cap-limited core, the front office bought itself a new schedule built around youth. So far this season, Morant has not been able to fit in. Injuries, suspensions and images of him brandishing a gun are overshadowed by a more immediate problem: Jaa today is nowhere near the folk hero who put Memphis back on the NBA map with inspiring heroics on the court.
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The Grizzlies were off to a 4-10 start before Morant strained his right calf, which felt like the hangover from last season’s nightmare. New head coach Tomas Isalo introduced a pick-and-roll scheme designed to take advantage of Morant’s downhill gravity, but the disconnect quickly emerged.
(Illustration by Mallory Biletski/Yahoo Sports)
Morant’s rim pressure, once his superpower, has disappeared, and his shooting percentage at the rim dropped to a career-low 26 percent. When he did get there, he shot a career-worst 55 percent. He also shot only 16.7% from three-point range and averaged a career-high 3.8 turnovers per game.
Efforts match the numbers. Without the ball, he was motionless. Defensively, he was targeted. When he was benched in the fourth quarter of a game earlier this season, he appeared visibly detached, sitting at the far end of the bench and later disparaging remarks about the coaching staff to reporters.
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Something amazing happened last month while Morant was out. The Grizzlies started winning. 7 out of the last 10 games. The Grizzlies are running, cutting and sharing the ball. With the offense thriving, lottery picks like Zach Eadie and Cedric Coward and second-round picks like Jalen Wells and Cam Spencer look like building blocks for the next decade.
These numbers are shocking. The Grizzlies have the fewest possessions per half of any NBA team with Morant on the floor. Instead of operating as a team, they start acting as one person’s audience. When he sat down? They’re third in passing attempts.
From last to third. Just remove one person.
Now, the main attraction is back. But is Morant returning to enhance the team’s rhythm, or to stop the music?
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Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect Morant to change his habits after playing one way for so long. But unless you’re a hyper-efficient superstar, adaptation is the price of the modern offense, and right now, the ball sticks to Morant’s hands like he’s playing with pine tar.
So far this season, 36 players, including Morant, are averaging at least 70 touches per game. Morant trails only James Harden in seconds per touch and ranks fifth behind Jalen Brunson in dribbles per touch, putting his ball-handling ability on the same level as the game’s elite creators. The problem is that the Grizzlies only score 0.97 points every time Morant touches the ball. Ranked last among those 36 players.
Finally died.
Morant holds the ball the longest, dribbles the most, but produces the least. It’s the definition of a broken system, anchored by a star whose game will soon be a relic.
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At one point, Morant had to be the Grizzlies’ savior. But now, this team just needs a teammate who can make quick decisions, keep the ball moving, and play hard. Over the past three years, Morant has shown little interest in developing as a player due to suspensions and a severe lack of self-awareness.
If Morant continues to hijack the offense, stifle the development of his younger teammates, and turn a smooth operation into a stagnant isolation feast, the Grizzlies need to send him to the highest bidder.
But even if Memphis decides it’s time to move him, the market could dry up. Minnesota has a health problem. The Clippers are short on assets. Even Sacramento’s historic desperation may have its limits. In the third year of a five-year, $197.2 million contract, Morant is in danger of being isolated unless he either performs like he once did or finally adapts his game to the team around him.
Ja bought the ticket, but he couldn’t buy patience. That, he must earn.
