Ja Morant has been very impressive in his first three games of the season. He’s been unstoppable attacking the basket and has shown the ability to knock down three-point shots consistently. The Memphis Grizzlies have a 2-1 record with wins over the Cavaliers and the Clippers. Their only loss was on the road against the Lakers on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.
Morant is entering his third season out of Murray State, and after how successful he was during his first two seasons, expectations were sky high entering his junior year in the NBA. The Grizzlies made the playoffs last season after earning the 8th seed with two wins in the play-in tournament. They were impressive in doing so with a shocking game one upset on the road against the Utah Jazz. They would lose that series in five games, but it raised expectations for both Morant and the rest of the team as they look to take the next step in their development.
Ja has put in the work to improve his game, and the team is hungry to become a winner. The talent is there in Memphis. They enjoy playing together, and it shows on the court with great chemistry. This team has a good mixture of young talent and solid veterans who have been a part of deep postseason runs. This team wants to win, and they want to win now.
Through the first three games of the season, Morant looks like he’s taken that next step towards superstardom. The way he can take over a game is special, and very few young players have that ability. In each of the first three games, he has a quarter in which he scored double digits. His ability to finish at the rim is as good as anybody in the NBA. He is truly an elite playmaking guard, and he has shown that to start the season.
It’s still early, but he is averaging 35 points and eight assists per game so far this season. He is also doing that efficiently, as he is shooting 58% from the field, including 44% from the three-point range. Expecting these numbers to stay this high is unrealistic, but with the confidence he’s playing with, there’s no reason to think this is just a fluke. With the amount of work he poured into his game this offseason we can expect big performances like this from Morant more often.
His performance against the Lakers was another in what is becoming a long list of special performances from this young star. He finished with 40 points and 10 assists on 13-21 shooting including 5-7 from three-point range. The Grizzlies weren’t able to secure the win though as Ja Morant missed a free throw in the closing seconds to tie the game, but this performance showed that this team, especially Morant, is ready to take that next step.
Looking ahead, the Grizzlies schedule features some tough opponents for a chance for Morant and the squad to prove themselves to the rest of the league. They finish off their four-game road trip at Portland on Wednesday followed by Golden State on Thursday. Then they have three tough home games starting with the Miami Heat, followed by back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets.
This challenging stretch doesn’t scare the Grizzlies, though. They’ve always been a confident bunch. They feel there’s no team they can’t beat after what they accomplished last season. This team has high expectations for themselves this season, but it’s hard to deny at the moment, the Grizzlies will only go as far Morant can carry them.
-Chris Kern
Twitter: @ChrisKern11