Ja Morant will have a painful memory from his rookie season to help remind him — and the rest of the NBA — just how far ahead of schedule the Memphis Grizzlies’ rebuilding project is.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant reacts after a dunk against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP)
“How close I was to the playoffs,” Morant said Saturday after the Grizzlies’ playoff hopes ended in a 126-122 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference’s play-in game.
“Obviously, now I feel like I kind of know what it takes to make it. We’re some games away. I learned a lot through the amount of games I played this whole season. I say people try to put a lot of pressure on me, but I’m a rookie. Just turned 21 a couple days ago. At this point, I’m still learning.”
The likely NBA rookie of the year capped off his season by scoring a career-best 35 points despite playing with a broken thumb the final four games of the NBA’s restart in Florida. Only three Grizzlies rookies previously scored 35 or more in a regular-season game: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Better yet, Morant finished the regular season as the seventh rookie in NBA history to score at least 17 points a game and hand out seven or more assists. He finished at 17.8 points and 7.3 assists, joining Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Damon Stoudamire, Allen Iverson and Trae Young.
A very nice debut indeed for the No. 2 pick overall in the 2019 draft.
“I feel like I got better as the season went on,” Morant said. “Obviously not the outcome we wanted, but we have to be proud of what we accomplished this season coming in, being projected to be 27th in the league and was right there in the play-in game.”
LEAD LOST
The Grizzlies went to Florida with a 3 1/2-game lead for the eighth spot only to go 2-6 in the seeding games.
That left them needing to beat Portland not once but twice. Injuries left them seriously shorthanded, and now the franchise’s playoff drought extends to a third straight season.
SHORTHANDED GRIZZLIES
The bubble did not protect Memphis from injuries that took out Justise Winslow with a displaced left hip during a team scrimmage soon after arriving in Florida. Tyus Jones never played in a seeding game because of a sore right knee. Then Jaren Jackson Jr., the No. 4 pick overall in 2018, tore the meniscus in his left knee and played only three games.
That left the heavy lifting to Morant and veteran center Jonas Valanciunas. They became the first Grizzlies teammates to have a triple-double in the same game, getting Memphis into the play-in game. Morant followed with a career-high 35 points and 42 minutes played.
SHOOTING HELP
The Grizzlies need more of Brooks’ good shooting and less of his bad. Memphis went 20-6 when Brooks scored 20 or more points and 4-16 when he was held to single digits during the regular season. But Greyson Allen hit 24 3s off the bench during the seeding games, providing a strong scoring threat when healthy.
RIGHT DIRECTION
The Grizzlies set a trio of franchise records by averaging 112.8 points per game and ranked second in the NBA by averaging 26.9 assists and sixth for a pace of 103.31 during the regular season.
They also led the NBA in scoring 55.9 points a game in the paint. During the seeding games, they ranked sixth in defensive rating at 108.1.
Valanciunas got more comfortable as the season went on and finished sixth in the NBA in rebounding, with a career-high 11.3 boards per game. He was second after the All-Star break, averaging 13.2 rebounds.
ANOTHER STRONG ROOKIE
Brandon Clarke may have gotten lost in all the attention earned by Morant, but he set an NBA rookie record by shooting 61.8% this season, topping the mark of 61.3% set by Steve Johnson in 1981-82.