Morant’s passing skills keep Grizzlies on track
It wasn't a warning but Ja Morant felt something different in his game after the Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Lakers last week.
“I'm getting back to it. Getting back to being me,” Morant said at the time.
He was talking about his scoring but it easily could've been about his facilitating. On Wednesday night he had a season-high 12 assists and a triple-double in the Grizzlies' win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Fedex Forum.
Morant has four double-doubles in the last five games but more importantly, the Grizzlies are 3-1 in those games. Despite shooting just 41.4% over the last seven games, his 69 assists in that span is the third-most in the NBA. His passing already set him apart as a rookie but in year two, it's starting to translate more into winning than just being flashy.
“Ja makes the game easier for a lot of people when he's aggressive,” Kyle Anderson said. “Whether he's scoring the ball or sharing it or setting us up with easy shots, he makes it really easy for us.”
Much has been made about Morant's lack of scoring touch since returning from an ankle injury last month. But the Grizzlies (12-12) lost when he scored 22 points against the Lakers and when he scored 28 points against the Pelicans on Tuesday. Of course, that's not why the Grizzlies lost both games. Morant as a scorer makes the Grizzlies even more difficult. But as teams adjust to keep him away from the rim, he's impacting the game in other ways.
The Grizzlies are 5-1 when Morant has at least 10 assists this season. He's upped his assist per game average from 7.3 to 8.3, which would be seventh in the NBA if he played more than 16 games.
They're also four games better than last season after 24 games and his teammates have reaped the benefits of Morant finding them on the court.
“The more and more I'm involved in Ja's pick-and-roll's and I'm off the ball, the more and more I'm finding how to read my defender and read all the help,” said guard Grayson Allen, who had 22 points on six 3-pointers Wednesday. “It might be sliding to the wing to create a passing lane (or) pull back behind him and let him know I'm behind if he needs to drop it off.”
The Grizzlies are hopeful De'anthony Melton (shoulder soreness) and Desmond Bane (personal reasons) return soon. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow returning to practice Wednesday is a good sign they're inching closer to recovering from their injuries.
But until then, Morant as facilitator is helping the Grizzlies stay afloat as much as Morant the scorer. Which is just the way he likes it.
“I'm not a stat chaser,” he said. “Just trying to win games and whatever it takes to do that.”