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Some wins just cost more in the long run and Ja Morant's captivating Memphis Grizzlies paid a price in a 132-124 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately, Morant went down with a shoulder injury midway through the third quarter and could be unavailable for at least a few games. Not only does that throw Morant's All-NBA eligibility in question, but it's concerning for a team looking to secure a top-four seed.
Memphis is not too worried considering there are still a few months before the NBA Playoffs begin. The All-Star has time to shake off this new knock and this roster is deep enough to tread water in the Western Conference. Taylor Jenkins was proud of the Grizzlies (22-10) showing ‘great resolve' in grinding up the Pelicans after a Morant's injury.
Jenkins explained how the Grizzlies reacted when Ja Morant went down and the victorious locker room's encouraging response after the game.
“Great resolve by the group and I talked to the guys after the game. I said ‘Every time the Pelicans went on a run what did we do”‘ and they said ‘We had a response.' I thought the conversations on the court were great. In the timeouts, you know when we’re making our mistakes offensively with our stagnation, I thought we improved that in the next phase after a timeout.”
Offensively, (CJ McCollum) had a heck of a night. (Trey Murphy III), heck of a night. Those were difficult covers but I thought we made enough big-time late in the game to have that lead. I think it was like 10 or 12. Obviously, they hit a couple of shots there but the responses were great throughout the game.”
McCollum (32 points, four assists) and Murphy III (35 points, four assists) kept things interesting but the outcome was never in doubt. The Grizzlies just had too much talent ready to step up in Morant's absence. Memphis led the entire game thanks to some solid work from Desmond Bane (18 points, eight assists) and all-around domination by Jackson Jr. (33 points, five rebounds, four steals, three blocks).
“I thought (Bane) was huge down the stretch as a playmaker putting the ball in his hands. Obviously, you have Ja in that position a lot of times. (Jaren Jackson Jr.) in that position as well but with some of their matchups we just wanted to get Des going,” explained Jenkins. “Whether that was scoring or playmaking for his team I thought (Bane) did a heck of a job. With the runs that they went on throughout the game, especially late in the game, I thought our poise was good.”
Memphis made easy work out of the road trip to New Orleans. The Zach Edey vs. Yves Missi duel was a dud, also due to an injury. However, the Grizzlies have given some much-deserved, hard-earned credit to a rookie after every win recently. Jaylen Wells got a mention but the focus after beating the Pelicans was more on what could be better amid a new Ja Morant injury scare.
“(Jaylen Wells) did a heck of a job trying to stay glued to McCollum. When (Murphy III and McCollum) go from three-point shooters to getting downhill, we got a little exposed at the rim with some fouls. They did a good job getting downhill and getting to the free line so there are some things we can clean up there. Overall just trying to take that shooting ability away was a big factor tonight and we did just enough to get the victory.”
