After they sputtered towards the end of the 2024-25 season, a slow start is not what the Memphis Grizzlies envisioned they would have entering the new campaign. But with Ja Morant looking like a shell of his former self as he battles frustrations towards the coaching staff and his team's play, the Grizzlies are entering a negative feedback loop that seems impossible to put an end to, especially after taking another loss, this time a 133-120 defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks.
Morant did have 16 points and 10 assists to function as the leader of the Grizzlies' offense, but those numbers simply aren't enough to make up for how much he's struggling in the other facets of the game. For starters, he turned the ball over eight times against the Knicks, which is a dreadful number for anyone. Moreover, he shot just 4-14 from the field (2-6 from three), and his shooting inefficiency is making all the other parts of the game that much more difficult for him as defenders simply give him room to shoot from the perimeter.
It might be overkill at this point for fans to pile on Morant and the Grizzlies' struggles. But as long as these persist, the clowning on social media will also continue.
“Ja Morant got 16 points & 8 turnovers that s**t so disgusting,” X user @wewantkey wrote.
“He just doesn't care anymore. Ja Morant has 7 turnovers AT HALFTIME. The NBA record for a game is 16. Trade him to Sacremento,” @JoeyDaKRacing added.
“The regression is real. I don’t wanna hear he’s not motivated. You can see he’s lost a step athletically it’s still better than most but for him he needs all of it because his game was never based on skill,” @Tariq8442 furthered.
How do the Grizzlies address the Ja Morant situation?
At this point, the Grizzlies must be very pained that their star player is performing this poorly all while his body language is screaming for a trade. How can Memphis simply pull the plug on Morant being their franchise cornerstone when he's playing this terribly, depressing his trade value in the process?
Patience must be in order for Grizzlies fans. Hope must be in plenty of supply as well.
