On January 4, Beijing time, at the beginning of the new year, the NBA regular season battle is in full swing. The Memphis Grizzlies visited barclays center to challenge the No. 1 Nets in the East. Although the opposing team was star-studded, with the team's overall outstanding performance at both ends of the attack and defense, it still won 118-104 against the opponent and won five consecutive victories.
After this game, the overall record of the Grizzlies reached 24 wins and 14 losses, ranking 4th in the West, leading the 7th Inc. Clippers in the West by as many as 6 wins, and the playoff qualification was stable. A few years ago, the Grizzlies sent Gasol Jr. and Conley Jr. to officially enter the rebuild, as a small-ball city team, almost everyone thought they needed a long process; however, no one expected that in just a few years, they would be back in the Top Four in the West.
The 23-year-old Morant is undoubtedly the number one contributor to the team's rise. The 2019 leaderboard show, in his rookie season, averaged 17.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, pushing the same year's champion Zion to be elected the best rookie. Last season, in his second year in the league, he led the team back to the playoffs and exploded with a staggering 30.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in the first round.
So far this season, In the 26 games played, Morant has averaged 25.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 49% from the field, shooting 40% from the outside, shooting 1.8 three-pointers per game, including points, rebounds, shooting rates, three-point shooting rates, and three-point shooting rates. After Mike Conley, the small city of Memphis once again found a good commander and leader. However, compared with the steady Conley, Morant's talent is obviously more explosive, and the ball style is more explosive and powder-absorbing.
In the recent five-game winning streak, Morant has brought his talent and abilities to the extreme. He averaged 31.6 points in four of his five games, averaging 31.6 points per game, plus 6.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists, shooting 50 percent from three-point range. In the past few games, he has played against stars such as Fox and Murray, as well as superstars such as Paul, James, Durant and Harden, but without exception, he has all cut off the horse.
Interestingly, a dozen days ago, when Morant had just returned from injury, because the team lost, the home fans once called him to the end of the game, venting the anger of the loss on him, and now, Morant has hit back at the outside world with his excellent performance. At the Grizzlies' home games, deafening "mvp" cries can even be heard.
Both his individual performance and the team's record are enough to prop up young Morant to earn a spot in this season's All-Star selection. Given the performances lillard and Doncic have struggled so far, he is expected to join Curry as the All-Star starter in the West this season.