Remember when the Memphis Grizzlies were a likeable team? Just a few seasons ago, they were seen as the young, spunky underdogs that everyone was rooting for. Led by the feisty Ja Morant, their surprising run to the top of the West had everyone enthralled. Two years later, and Memphis is arguably the most hated team in the NBA. Between Morant's trash talking and off-court issues to Dillon Brooks'… everything, they have become hated by many fans.

For all of the trash talk from Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, both players seem to scurry away after a loss. Brooks caught a lot of flak for ducking the media after his Game 3 ejection. After the Grizzlies' Game 4 loss, Morant joined Brooks in declining to speak to the media. That caught a lot of attention from people, who don't appreciate this decision.

There were also some comments referencing Morant's infamous “I'm fine in the West” quotes and an anonymous player dissing the Grizzlies in general.

https://twitter.com/JoaoNasser/status/1650733118754631743

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Why are people clowning Morant and Brooks? While it's common for players to talk to the media after a game, they also have the option of declining to talk. That's perfectly fine. After talking smack against their opponents, though, it does feel a bit cheap for the Grizzlies players (Brooks in particular) to avoid the media. It seems like they are “ducking the smoke”, and want no part of the criticism that is lobbied their way. If you can't take the heat, don't dish it.

The best way for the Grizzlies to get the clowning to stop is to actually win, though. Winning cures everything, after all. It won't completely go away (it's hard to shake off clownery of this magnitude), but it's a good start.