Ja Morant has been trying to find his footing in the early going after a few bumpy seasons. Last season a 25-game suspension and a subsequent labral tear caused him to miss all but nine games, and so far this season he's been a little rough.
But he got it going in a big way on Thursday with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in just 29 minutes as the Grizzlies posted a dominant 122-99 win over the hapless Bucks -- who, as a side note, look like an absolutely lifeless disaster. It could get really ugly really quickly in Milwaukee if this continues.
Morant, who entered the game shooting just 42% overall and 16% from 3, connected on nine of 16 shots including two of his five 3-pointers. He was flat-out toying with the Bucks, negotiating his way into the paint at will with his typically dizzying array of gyrations.
But it was Morant's passing that accounted for his nightly "you have to be kidding me" highlight. Midway through the second quarter, he threw a pinpoint alley-oop while literally sitting down at the 3-point line. Yes, you heard that right. He was sitting down, having gone to the floor to retrieve a deflected pass.
Perhaps more impressive than the pass itself was the patience Morant displayed from the seat of his pants. That is such a panic-inducing position. We see guys all the time scramble to the floor and just flail a pass in the direction of anything that even resembles a teammate to get out of trouble, whether they're actually in trouble or not.
Morant recognized that he wasn't in trouble, that the Bucks were just sort of circling around him but not actually causing him any real distress. So he took his time and surveyed the floor as if it was a normal play. When Santi Aldama opened up along the baseline and Morant delivered the dime like he was messing around in his backyard.
Frankly, that's how Morant looked all night as he wrapped up his triple-double before the midway point of the third quarter. This was the quintessential "without breaking a sweat" game. Morant was laughing all through the game, but still managed to play with discipline as he committed just one turnover after coughing up 17 of them through his first four games. The Bucks were merely a collective prop in Morant's one-man show that ended in Memphis' third win of the season (3-2) while sending the Bucks to 1-4.