In the game this past Saturday against the Washington Wizards, Ja Morant scored 34 points. Yeah, nothing super spectacular about that. I mean, 30+ points are still 30+ points, it’s obviously a good thing, say better than 29 points so says me, Captain Obvious. But when you look deeper at the stats, this was the 13th time this season that Morant has scored 20+ points in the paint. He’s the first guard to achieve that in the last 25 years, eclipsing both Russell Westbrook (19-20) and Dwayne Wade (05-06) who previously held that mantle. And it should be pointed out that there are still 31 games left this season. Often compared to the likes of Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose, Morant has earned that comparison by being an absolute beast, aggressively attacking the rim at all times. But is such a thing meant to last? Is there regression in store for this young star? That and more after the jump!
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Considered one of the more exciting collegiate players during his stay at Murray State, Morant was a consensus number two player in the 2019 draft class to Zion Williamson. Carrying the Racers to the NCAA Tournament pretty much all by himself, the highest scouting marks were in his incredible athleticism and basketball IQ. His speed, vision, and explosiveness in transition and at the rim were plus-plus as well. In fact, while he received the same comparisons already mentioned ala Iverson, Rose, and even Westbrook, I saw him more of a John Wall when he was, you know, John Wall. And just like Wall, shooting, especially perimeter shooting, was probably one of his few weak points, something he somewhat carries with him still today.
Still, Morant has been spectacular this season and is on the cusp of leading the Grizzlies potentially deep into the playoffs and also will, for the first time, be an NBA All-Star starter. And even if he isn’t the greatest perimeter shooter, there are some encouraging signs so far if you look at the stats. In the past three seasons, his three-point attempts have gone from 2.7 to 3.8 to 4.5, essentially doubling the amount of threes he takes. Take into account that his career average stands at 33.1% while this year, his beyond-the-arc accuracy sits at 36.4 and, in his last 72 games (including the playoffs and play-ins), he’s shooting 37.2% on 4.6 attempts. So while there are real improvements in the area, the biggest factor driving his numbers are the fact that he’s literally moved into the paint and is dominating there. To say it another way, despite his perimeter growth, 18% of his total points came from outside the arc last season. This year it stands at 19%.
Not for nothing, but I was intrigued at a recent conversation on JJ Redick’s podcast with Draymond Green where they talked about the top-3 smartest players Green has played against. He went with the obvious suspects, CP3, LeBron, and Rondo, but added Ja Morant as the fourth which always played into his scouted basketball IQ. As already one of the best point guard finishers in the league right now, having the ability to adapt and play-read, taking advantage of his vision, these are all aspects that can feed into constant improvement rather than regression.
And yes, there is still room for regression. That three-point percentage may come down a bit, but I don’t think that changes the dynamic that much. Think of the outside shooting as the cherry on top, nice but unnecessary with all that delicious frosting. And while I just made myself hungry, it’s important to note the overwhelming conclusion with Morant is that he has an innate ability to find easy points at any given moment or get to the spots he needs to get when pushed-back on.
Between Me and You (required Ja Rule name drop), Ja Morant is special and will be for the foreseeable future. Now it’s time for me to go Smokin and Ridin. (Ja Rule track also.) And I guess eat some cake with frosting and cherries on top. (Not a Ja Rule track.)
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell. You can follow him on Twitter @jaywrong.
