The Memphis Grizzlies have a lot of faith in rookie point guard Ja Morant, and for good reasons. However, as it does for almost all players, it may take an adjustment period at first.
Someone who is playing an important role in trying to help “speed up the learning curve” for Morant is Tyus Jones. Whether it's through support or providing tricks of the trade, Jones understands the significance of Morant hitting the ground running on his NBA career.
“(I’m) just trying to be there for him, support him,” Jones said, via Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic. “Give him any tips that I know, anything that can help him speed up the learning curve. He’s already ahead on it just from where he’s at talent-wise.”
It was not too long ago when Jones was the one trying to get ready for his first NBA season, and he can relate to Morant as a result. Jones believes that when it comes to adapting to the highest level, Morant is “handling it extremely well?
However, he noted that there is also “a lot of pressure on his shoulders.”
“For me it was just having to stay patient,” Jones said. “Things came a little bit slower for me, I wasn’t playing a lot early on and had to earn my way into the rotation and find my niche, things like that. For Ja, just being thrown into the fire right away, just starting, that’s a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders. But he’s handling it extremely well so far, he’s built for it and I think people are seeing that early on the type of player that he is.”
The Grizzlies plan to give Morant the freedom as the team's main perimeter playmaking engine right out of the gate. Having help from Jones should be valuable in the rookie's effort to shoulder that level of responsibility.
Follow Us
Subscribe