Would you rather build a team centered on point guard Ja Morant, the rising point guard of the Memphis Grizzlies, or Luka Doncic, the superstar of the Dallas Mavericks? Ahead of Saturday's Lone Rangers vs. Grizzlies, ESPN's three experts Stephen A.S. Smith, Jaylen Rose and Michael Willburn gave unanimous answers, all of whom chose Morant.
Smith elaborated on why Morant was chosen, citing Doncic's eating habits and health as reasons people began to suspect him. However, the editor feels that although Smith's concerns are not unreasonable, Doncic is the main reason for helping the Lone Rangers in the winning stage, the Lone Rangers have only achieved a record of 5 wins and 9 losses without Doncic this season, compared with when Morant was absent due to injury some time ago, the Grizzlies became the strongest team in the league, achieving a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. While the fact that the Grizzlies have a good record without Morant doesn't mean they'll be better off without Morant, it does prove that the Grizzlies are stronger overall than the Lone Rangers, and Doncic is definitely on the upper hand in terms of individual influence on the team.
In terms of this season alone, Morant does have the capital to be on par with Doncic, because from the perspective of efficiency and defense, Morant has performed better, but Doncic has been selected to the best team twice, and this is a feat completed in just four seasons, in contrast, Morant has not won any NBA honors, although this situation may change this season, but the editor feels that he may still not be selected to the most lowly lineup.
Rose cited Morant's fast-break attack and super finishing ability on the inside as the main reasons for his choice of athletically talented defender. Xiaobian feels that although these two items are indeed Morant's strengths, Doncic is not far behind, although he is short and fat, Buttic's basket finishing efficiency is also very high.
According to NBA statistics, Doncic shoots 71% from within 4 feet of the basket, more than 91% of the league's players, and when we compare that data with Morant's data, we will find a 6% difference between the two, because the Grizzlies guard's shooting percentage in this area exceeds the league's 85% shooting rate, so in essence, Doncic is the better basket finisher.
Wilfburn said Morant's two-way ability was the main reason he made the choice. Although Morant has repeatedly played well on the defensive end, the data shows that the defensive gap between the two point guards is smaller than Wilburn imagined.
While defensive stats don't tell the whole story, Doncic does have a few defensive stats ahead of Morant. First of all, Doncic's individual defensive rating is 105, while Morant is 110, and although the defensive rating ranking is biased towards the front court players in NBA history, the two players are in the same position, so it seems fair to use such data as a comparison. Doncic's defensive plus-minus is also positive, while Morant is currently negative, and while no one would consider Doncic a good defensive player, his size has helped in many games and he shouldn't be seen as someone who will be overlooked on the defensive end.
What does Doncic think of Morant, who is currently posing a serious threat to his position? After Saturday's lone ranger's 112-85 win over the Grizzlies, Doncic said of Morant in an interview: "I think (Morant) deserves the attention he's been getting, he's played really well this season, and I think he deserves that... I think he's very talented. ”
Although Morant surpassed Doncic in the recent all-Star voting fan vote, Doncic is undoubtedly a greater player, and the unanimous choice of Morant by esplanade's three experts before the game is a very brainless decision, nothing more than they were overwhelmed by the hot Grizzlies, after all, the Grizzlies have won 11 consecutive games before losing to the Lone Rangers, do you think these three experts are right? Do you think Morant really surpassed Doncic? If you had to choose one of the two of them as the cornerstone of the team, who would you choose?