While Morant is again sidelined due to another injury (knee), the Grizzlies continue to demolish every other team in the league. They just beat the Bucks, with a healthy Giannis, by 25 points the night before last. Tonight, they're up 63 to 37 over the Warriors at halftime.
All this talk about how Morant single-handedly turned them into a top team is hilarious. The soon to be 18-2 Morantless Grizzlies are the best team in the league when Morant isn't on the floor. That 90% win rate drops to 62.5% when he's out there (35-21). Again, don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some Ja Morant, but I'm getting really sick of this narrative about him being the reason for the Grizzlies' success this season. He's an absolutely electric player and so much fun to watch. But he's also a considerable defensive liability. Not as bad defensively as Trae Young (who just so happens to be the worst defensive player in the past 40+ years, literally), but he is certainly a below average defender.
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