Morant struggles against Golden State
Steve Kerr suggested before his Warriors played Ja Morant for the first time on Wednesday that Morant bears similarities to 11-time All-star Allen Iverson, who was briefly a member of the Grizzlies in 2009.
“He is a terrific young player,” the Warriors’ coach said.
But of former Grizzlies point guards, Morant looked more like Wade Baldwin than Iverson on Wednesday — at least for three quarters.
Morant finished a team-high 20 points and six assists in the Grizzlies’ 114-95 loss, but only after a nine-point fourth quarter in a game that was out of reach. The rookie point guard finally looked like a rookie for an extended stretch of game action.
“It’s kind of like a quarterback in football,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “You just have to be able to read it early and adapt to it. And knowing his high IQ, he’ll be able to figure it out.”
Jenkins has no doubt that Morant will adapt. In fact, he’s already seen the No. 2 overall pick do it early in a rookie season that has featured more highlights than struggles.
“Unfortunately, there are tough nights,” Jenkins said. “It’s not just him. We all struggled. But he is such a good learner.”
Morant registered a team-worst -25 for the game, meaning the Warriors outscored Memphis by 25 points during the 35 minutes Morant played.
A fourth quarter airball on a 3-point attempt from the right wing exemplified his struggles. Morant turned and yelled in frustration as the errant shot fluttered out of bounds with Memphis trailing by 15 early in the final frame.
He went on to score nine points in the quarter. But the late flurry couldn’t atone for a rough start.
“He’ll navigate it, he’ll get through it,” Jenkins said. “We’ve seen plenty of times where he has been successful against a lot of different coverages.”