Morant’s passing game brings victories to Grizzlies
Ja Morant’s last two games showed his differences in starting games. A bull-headed scorer vs. a patient facilitator.
Morant had a 14-point first quarter Sunday but it came as the Indiana Pacers scored 45 points and eventually won. On Monday, he had just two points yet had three assists as the Grizzlies were tied at 22 with the Chicago Bulls after the first quarter, a game the Grizzlies won.
It’s made for a strange case study in his second season. Why do the Grizzlies (27-25) win more with Morant as facilitator than scorer?
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Morant’s impact remains respected around the league. NBA TV analyst Sam Mitchell said this month he admires Morant caring about winning instead of stat chasing.
“He’s not trying to prove to the rest of the NBA that I’m going to be a great 3-point shooter. Right now, he’s a winner, whatever he has to do to win basketball games … he does,” Mitchell said.
The shooting dilemma
Morant’s scoring is up (18.9 points from 17.8) while his assists are close to last season (7.4 to 7.3). But his shooting remains a season-long issue, highlighted by his 27% on 3pointers.
He’s also shooting 67.5% on free throws since the All-star break, down from 79.7% before the break. However, it’s his 3-point shooting that’s been the obvious concern.
Morant has remained defiant whenever he’s asked about it and he’s said he’ll shoot through it no matter what. It hasn’t always worked but since the All-star break, he’s shooting 32.8% on 3-pointers, up from 23.3% before the break.
“Make or miss, I’m going to continue to shoot. I put the work in each and every day so it’s no reason I should lack confidence and not shoot the ball,” Morant said.
He’s in good company with other star guards who entered the NBA known more for attacking the rim than shooting. Kyrie Irving’s 3-point shooting dipped slightly in his second season (39.9 to 39.1%) as did Russell Westbrook (27.1 to 22.1%). Chris Paul improved from 28.2 to 35%.
There’s no reason to worry Morant won’t improve but it’s an issue he’ll have to address during the offseason.
Scoring vs. facilitating
Part two of the dilemma is the Grizzlies are better when Morant facilitates more than scores. They’re 8-2 when Morant has at least 10 assists and 4-12 when he scores at least 20 points.
What’s also strange is Morant has more quiet first halves where he’s content not to score but feel the game out. He’s averaged 7.9 points in the first half compared to 11.1 in the second, a trend that’s continued
from his rookie year.
It’s been frustrating for fans who expect him to live up to the “superstar prototype” of best players scoring at will. But two things are at play.
First, teams are taking away his ability to get to the rim. Second, his teammates and Jenkins have praised him for dictating pace and knowing when to attack and when to get others involved.
It could be that Morant is more savant than just an athletic marvel. But he’s 21 with just 111 NBA games played so he’s still learning how to impact games consistently with his passing and scoring.
The wins keep coming
For all the questions about Morant, one thing is evident. The Grizzlies are winning with him and have done so without injured Jaren Jackson Jr.
Entering Wednesday, they were one game ahead of the Spurs for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Since Feb. 14, they’ve been no worse than 10th in the West.
The credit can spread around to Jonas Valanciunas, Kyle Anderson and Dillon Brooks, among others. But it comes back to Morant and the tone he sets.
“He impacts winning,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spolestra said. “All I know is, before he got there they had one of the worst records in the league. They were in the playoffs at the time of the shutdown last year and in the playoffs now. They have a very young team, so that is unique.”
This season might not be the full second-year leap some expected for Morant. But the Grizzlies are still playoff contenders just like last season.
It’s more than enough and for Morant, that’s all that matters. His game hasn’t reached its peak but his pass-first nature is changing the Grizzlies’ culture as much as his scoring highlights.
“My game is different from a lot of point guards in the league. Whatever the team needs from me, that is what I do,” Morant said. “I got many talented players on this team that can score the ball. If I have zero points and we win the game, I’m cool.”