Morant feeling like 'old Ja' after 31-point night vs. Mavs
Ja Morant is feeling like himself again after dropping 31 points in the Memphis Grizzlies' 122-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
"A little bit of Ja, the old Ja," Morant told reporters postgame Friday, including ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "Yeah, so it was nice to see some baskets go down. Obviously, it's kind of what I'm used to."
Morant's having a down year by his standards amid another injury-riddled campaign. The two-time All-Star is averaging his lowest number of points (21.2 per contest) since his second NBA season. He's also turning over the ball more than ever and shooting a career-low 43.2% from the field.
The former No. 2 overall pick has specifically struggled with his jump shot. Morant has made only 28.2% of his attempts from deep, and his 29% clip on non-corner threes ranks in the 16th percentile among point guards, per Cleaning the Glass.
Although Morant has made just 15.2% of his attempts from downtown since the All-Star break, that didn't deter him from taking and drilling a triple in the final 30 seconds to seal Friday's win.
"All-time high. I'm not worried," said Morant about his confidence level. "If I miss a shot, I missed plenty of shots in my basketball career. I'm not the first one to miss shots.
"So you see what happened, how I ended the game. I hit a 3. That honestly should show the confidence right there, right? To seal the game, I shot a 3. That should show my confidence right there."
Memphis sits fourth in the West with a 39-24 record, two games back of the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed.