Ja Morant is just days from making his highly anticipated return from a 25-game suspension. The superstar point guard's season debut can't come soon enough for the bruised and battered Memphis Grizzlies, who've endured a series of injuries to key contributors en route to a 6-17 start, tied for second worst in a stacked Western Conference.
Speaking with reporters on Friday for the first time since 2023-24 tipped off, Morant accepted “full responsibility” for his team's bottom-dwelling place in the standings, acknowledging his absence only exacerbated impact of the Grizzlies' injury woes. The two-time All-Star, thankfully, was much less interested in engaging in fan discourse about which floor generals across the league may have leapt him in the positional pecking order.
“Hats off to them for leading their teams and playing great,” Morant responded when asked by Anthony Sain for his thoughts on the perception that Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson are better players than him. “Obviously, the league has a ton of talented players. I have no say on who's better than me and who's not. Obviously, that's everybody else's opinion so, yeah…I don't get mad at that stuff, man.”
Ja on media perception of guys being ranked ahead of him pic.twitter.com/8i6HDNezac
— Anthony Sain (@SainAsylum) December 15, 2023
Grizzlies' path with Ja Morant back in the lineup
Good on Morant for not taking the bait. Now certainly isn't the time for him to pump his chest when being compared to other point guards, let alone focus on anything other than how he can help Memphis rescue what looks like a lost season.
The Grizzlies, losers of three straight, are six and-a-half games back of the Phoenix Suns for 10th in the West, the final spot in the play-in tournament. Could they really make up that margin with Morant back in the fold for as many as 57 games? It's an extremely tall order, but not completely outside the realm of possibility given Memphis' star power and sharpening defensive teeth.
Desmond Bane has quietly cemented himself as a viable primary creator without Morant next to him in the backcourt, averaging 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game on solid 58.9% true shooting. His overall growth as a scorer and playmaker is especially impressive considering Memphis' dearth of offensive threats in an overmatched supporting cast, as Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke are out with season-ending injuries while Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard have missed significant chunks of the schedule, too.
Jared Jackson Jr. hasn't been as immune to the effects of that offensive environment, also pressed into the highest usage rate and heaviest playmaking load of his career. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has dominated as a scorer recently, though, exploding to average 33.4 points on scorching efficiency in the Grizzlies' last five games.
No one is expecting Jackson to remain among basketball's most productive, efficient scorers as the 82-game grind wears on. But if he and Bane are able to thrive at new levels when pushed back into their normal offensive roles upon Morant's return, Memphis could finally manage the two-way effectiveness necessary to slowly climb up the standings.
The Grizzlies are currently 12th in defensive rating, a relatively encouraging standing given their rash of injuries—especially Smart's—and opponents shooting a league-high 40.9% from deep, per Cleaning the Glass, an unsustainable clip bound to come down going forward. With Morant coming back on December 19th and both Smart and Kennard nearing returns, it's no stretch to suggest Memphis could soon manage a top-10 defense and league-average offense—health provided, of course.
Odds are even that optimal scenario won't be enough for the Grizzlies to dig themselves out of such a deep hole, emerging as a play-in team come season's end. But Memphis' core is still young, potentially with multiple seasons of top-tier contention lying ahead of it. The better they play upon Morant's debut, the more realistic that hope will be no matter where the Grizzlies finish 2023-24 in the standings.
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