In an interview that aired on ESPN last week, Ja Morad he claimed to be studying the Boston Celtics, thinking his Memphis Grizzlies they will have to face them on the way to the title. “Anyone in the Western Conference?”Malika Andrews asked, to which Morant responded “No, I’m fine in the West”.
So Morant and his Grizzlies were leading the West, but he still seemed to be a overly expected and arrogant statement from the star of a team that won just once in the playoffs in Ja’s three previous years in the NBA (4-2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022 first round), though Memphis’ good play justified some confidence in himself.
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Now, after the Christmas loss to Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry and another one tough fall against some Phoenix Suns without Devin Bookerthis sentence creates noise again.
As John Schuhmann noted on Twitter, The Grizzlies have a losing record against Western Conference teams this season: 9 wins and 10 losses. Of the games played between the nine teams from the West with over 50% wins in the regular season, currently contenders for the playoffs, Memphis has the third-worst record: 4-7 with -38 points difference.
Here are the records in games played among the 9 West teams that are currently over .500.
(Sacramento has played 19 of its 32 games against the Eastern Conference.)
Nuggets-Kings tonight. pic.twitter.com/QRdvpIiaiC
—John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) December 28, 2022
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Morad, who is averaging 27.1 points and 7.8 assists per game on 45 percent shooting from the field, see their number remain on scale in 10 appearances against the West’s top opponents (he did not play in a loss to the Utah Jazz) with 27.3 points and 5.3 assists on 46.3% shooting from the field.
One of the problems for the Grizzlies isn’t Ja, but how their defense breaks down on these drives: the team received 113 points or more in two games against Utah, one against Dallas, one against Phoenix, another against New Orleans and another against Sacramento: lost all those matchesfour of them by ten points or more.
At the same time, only three were kept below 107 degrees: beat Portland and Phoenix with it but lost to Denver.
In the few games he played Desmond Bain, Memphis is 2-4 against those West opponents. The shooting guard’s numbers do drop when comparing those against Eastern opponents to those in his conference: from 24 points and 48.9% on field goals to 21.6 points and 40.4%. Something similar happens with Jaren Jackson Jr.: from 17.3 points and 53.6% from the field to 15.2 points and 46.7% from the field.
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Having only played 40% of the regular season, Those numbers are nothing to worry about for Memphisbut the last defeats should have come in time calm an excess of confidence in a team that looks like it has a great future but has yet to win anything and now they’re actually closer to falling to fifth in the West than returning to the top of the conference.
Before considering the Boston Celtics, who they have lost to this season as well (a 109-106 loss at home), the Grizzlies need to address their most pressing issues. This weekend will be a good test for that, me games with New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings.
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