Ja Morant is more than a spectacular player: how the Memphis Grizzlies star became defenseless

JaVale McGee It didn’t take him long to realize how little margin for error there is on defense Ha Morad.

In the first minute of the match between Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies from October 22, the in-house veteran found himself in the precarious position of having to pair up with the electrifying rival star. As the pick-and-roll loomed, McGee knew Morant was going to try to get into the paint, but he quickly learned that was just part of his current offensive arsenal.

Morad stunned McGee with the inside out (dribble in and out) and, while he didn’t sit his opponent down, created enough space for the point guard to finish with an elegant miss on the left step.

A minute later, the same pick and roll but with a change in support.

The execution was almost identical. Steven Adams placed the screen for his stand on the same side. Dorian Finney-Smith went over the top as McGree dipped. Morant even prepared the opposing interior with the same technical gesture as before.

The difference? Instead of sliding, go to the hoop like this…

Morant left this technical marvel:

The body control and touch needed to turn what looked like a step loss in a eurostep capital is slow.

subscribe to NBA League Pass to see all matches: United States | The rest of the world

This series tells you everything you need to know about how a slight coach with an inconsistent jump shot has become one of the most dominant scorers in the NBA. Every team knows Morant’s weaknesses, and yet That didn’t stop him from leading the league in scoring in the paint last season.

While he doesn’t top the league in that stat in the short run of 2022-23, he’s in contention with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson, four players who physically surpass him by far.

The key to Morant’s success in painting is twofold.. Yes, he’s an athletic prodigy who can outjump and outrun anyone, but he’s spent the last four years developing a battery of finishes to match Tony Parker’s.

The Grizzlies point guard was limited to 57 games in the 2021-2022 season, but only five players made more shots than he did from the limitless area of ​​the paint, better known as the shooting range. floats. He hit those pitches at an above-average rate for his position, which is an impressive feat considering the excessive volume he handled.

To be more specific, Morant averaged a 3.0 floats per night last season. That ranked him third in the NBA behind only Trae Young (4.0) and Collin Sexton (3.1).

“It’s something I’ve worked on”Said the star about his bombs in Pardon My Take. “Which allows me to not absorb too much contact, just stop right in front of the defender and float. I feel like I shoot and float at a high level, so I should be in that category.”

“The analysis and the numbers say those shots are not effective, but as you can see, there are a lot of people in this league who take them and take them at a high level.”

His threat floating it allows Morant to do some really great things with the ball in his hands. Give him room when he goes to the rim and he’ll stop in a millisecond to execute the finish. And if they push him, he will find a way to get out of trouble.

Combine that with his athleticism and speed, and defenses often have no idea what’s coming, because he can outrun any opponent in the blink of an eye.

Let’s take a look at the next possession. Most players would stop or back off during this time:

Not with Ja Morant. The base attacks Bruno Fernando in the same way as McGree, leading him to finish with offensive ease.

Jabari Smith Jr had time to weigh in on the game, but the result was the same as his teammate minutes later.

Smith meets Morad in a better position than Fernando and is quickly out of the paint:

This time, instead of going straight to the rim, Morant changes pace and goes for a big bomb.

The ball left Morad’s hands so quickly that Smith didn’t even have a chance to get his feet in place.

The scary thing about the Grizzlies star is that he’s getting close to making a jump shot. The sample size is still small, but he’s already thrown five pitches so far after throwing 18 all of last season. More importantly, he didn’t land his jump by 3 seconds 33.8% to 52.9%.

Obviously, this isn’t sustainable for an entire campaign, not even that Stephen Curry he makes half of his 3-point attempts on the bounce, but Morant’s jump shot looks more fluid.

Combine Morant’s mastery of the paint with an improved jump shot, there really isn’t going to be a solid answer anytime soon against the point guard.

Ja Morant’s last year? Player with the highest progression.

This year? MVP, I have no doubt about it.

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.