OKLAHOMA CITY — During the Memphis Grizzlies’ nightmarish start to this year’s playoffs, there’s been one stretch when Ja Morant looked like Ja Morant.
It came during Game 2 of his team’s first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday when Morant subbed back into the game after missing his first six shots of the night.
After stepping back on the floor with 8:55 left in the second quarter, Morant started by stepping into a one-handed floater over Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. He followed that by tossing a pass to Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey on the next possession for an easy alley-oop slam. After jumping up to steal Hartenstein’s attempt at a long outlet pass, Morant sank another floater over Hartenstein. The Grizzlies star finished his run by going into another pick-and-roll with Edey and splashing home a 3-pointer that cut the Thunder’s lead from 19 to 12 in a little over two minutes.
Oklahoma City immediately responded with a timeout before the ball hit the floor.
From there, the Thunder upped their pressure and limited Morant’s impact, the way they have in both games of this series, as they cruised to a 118-99 victory to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
While the Grizzlies managed to cut Oklahoma City’s lead down to single digits in the second half, this one stretch in the second quarter may have been the only time Memphis has felt like a real threat to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Without Morant dominating the way he has in previous postseasons for the Grizzlies, Memphis has looked helpless for most of the first two games against the most suffocating defense in the NBA.
The Grizzlies already came into this series as massive underdogs against an OKC squad that won 68 games during the regular season. But if Morant can’t find a way to put his imprint on this series at some point, Memphis will have a hard time even getting the Thunder to break a sweat before this series is over.
“In the end, it comes down to the word quality. We’ve got to have quality in everything we do,” Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo said when asked what it will take to get Morant going. “Better quality with our entries, making sure we create separation to get there. We’ve got to have better quality in the screening interactions. Then, we’ve got to have better quality also in spacing during the actions so one defender can never guard two.
“We still have a ways to go in all of those.”
At their core, the Grizzlies are at their best when they play fast, downhill, and with their signature brash confidence. All of those features are a direct reflection of Morant.
While Morant’s overall performance this season hasn’t been up to par with what he’s done in the past, Memphis shifted its focus late in the season to center more of the offense around him in preparation for the postseason. The Grizzlies understood that playoff basketball often boils down to taking advantage of matchups and allowing the best players on the floor to dictate the action.
Despite his second-quarter flurry on Tuesday night, Morant’s overall impact in this series has been below average as the Thunder have cruised to back-to-back victories by a combined 70-point margin.
In Game 2, Morant finished with 23 points on 10-of-25 shooting. Through two games, he’s shooting 38 percent from the floor, 25 percent on threes, and he’s got 10 assists and six turnovers.
On Tuesday night, his demeanor was much different than the Morant we’ve come to know during his first six seasons in the NBA. What separates him from so many of his peers is that Morant’s game and persona on the court are so loud. You can watch him on mute and still feel his presence. He’s known for being bold and demonstrative in his interactions with teammates, officials, opposing players and fans in the crowd — sometimes to a fault.
None of that was present in Game 2.
Jaren Jackson Jr. moves the ball against Thunder guard Alex Caruso. Jackson led the Grizzlies with 26 points against OKC. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
For most of the night, he was much more subdued than usual. It’s tough to blame him. It’s hard to talk smack when your team is a couple of nights removed from getting crushed by 51 points.
But perhaps more than most superstars, Memphis feeds off Morant’s energy. His cocky attitude isn’t a detriment for the Grizzlies. It’s a key ingredient in what makes them who they are.
After back-to-back blowout losses, it’s tough to be cocky. It’s difficult to lean on previous success and say “Everything is going to be fine.” They all see the light at the end of the tunnel, and they know it’s a train coming directly at them.
If the Grizzlies have any hope of making this series competitive — any hope of looking respectable before their season inevitably comes to an end — it has to start with Morant tapping into some of the characteristics that brought this era of Grizzlies basketball back to prominence.
“I’ve got to be better. It’s simple,” Morant said after Tuesday’s loss. “If I be better, we’ll be better.”
Unfortunately, this Thunder team is a historical headache on the defensive end because they’re uniquely built to neutralize dynamic guards like Morant. They’re stacked with more disruptive perimeter defenders than any team in recent memory.
They’ve got guys like Lu Dort and Jalen Williams who play with physicality. They’ve got guys like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace who can move their feet and have quick hands. The Grizzlies’ ball handlers in this series, including Morant, have been under constant duress because of the relentless ball pressure that’s become a core part of the Thunder’s identity.
It certainly won’t be easy for Morant to fight off those waves of defenders and deal with Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren at the rim, but he has no choice but to find a way.
“It’s a series. You never get too high or too low about anything. You’ve got to go home and take care of business,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “Ride the wave of the home crowd and protect home court. Have that confidence and that swag.”
When Morant is most effective, a massive part of his success is scoring in transition, and the Thunder have dominated that part of the game by controlling the boards and winning the turnover battle like they have all season.
Through two games, Memphis has been outscored 48-8 in fast break points and the Thunder have racked up 49 points off turnovers. Morant didn’t help with his five turnovers in Game 2.
“We’re getting beat to some loose balls. That’s stopping our transition,” said Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2. “They’re putting a lot of pressure on Ja and some of our other guys. We’ve just got to have multiple guys willing to push the ball and get us out in transition.”
A major focus heading into Tuesday night was getting Jackson more involved after his ugly four-point outing in Game 1. It’s understandable considering he was the Grizzlies’ best player on both ends of the court for most of the season.
Jackson responded well, scoring 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Game 2. However, the Grizzlies need more than what the big man can provide.
As much as Jackson’s efficiency and understanding of defenses have improved this season, his offensive game is largely built around slow-developing post-ups and 1-on-1 play. He doesn’t lift the others around him the way Morant does when he’s locked in.
While Jackson did have 26 points in Game 2, he also finished with zero assists. As Memphis heads back home for Game 3, it needs role players like Edey, Santi Aldama and Scotty Pippen Jr. to ascend as the pressure increases in front of the home crowd.
The player most capable of getting that out of them is undoubtedly Morant.
“They took care of their business,” Iisalo said. “Now, it’s time for us to take care of our business at home.”
Ultimately, it’s fair to wonder if any of this matters.
Are there any adjustments that will stop Oklahoma City from unceremoniously ending this series in four or five games? With each passing quarter, it becomes more evident that the Thunder are simply a far superior team.
These teams have met six times this season, and all six games have ended in a double-digit win by the Thunder.
Results in six games between OKC and Memphis this season:
Thunder win by 24
Thunder win by 13
Thunder win by 17
Thunder win by 21
Thunder win by 51
Thunder win by 19— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) April 23, 2025
Perhaps the lopsided nature of this series will be the catalyst that ends this era of Memphis basketball and results in one of the Grizzlies’ Big 3 — maybe even Morant — finding a new home this summer. Maybe getting embarrassed like this is what this team needs to evolve and stop relying on what’s worked for them in the past.
After the first two games, much of the NBA has rolled their eyes at this series and are counting the days until it’s over.
However, the Grizzlies have mentioned repeatedly that a series doesn’t begin until a home team loses. The reality is that this series is already over if the Morant that got them here doesn’t show up.
(Top photo of Ja Morant guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)