[Star] Morant vs Bulls Highlights
To be a top superstar in the league, you may need to have the following factors, for example, you have the word "rand" in your name, and at the same time, you are better selected by the team in the second pick.
Believe it or not, you can look at Kevin Durant, who is now one of the league's top superstars, the NBA's all-time scorer. The other is the Grizzlies' Ja Morant, playing for a small city team, but this year's Morant has become the all-Star starter, the powerful West, he led the Grizzlies to the top three positions in the West, and at a young age, he may become the next Derrick Rose, and get the regular season MVP in the third year of his career.
Speaking of Morant, you must have heard a lot of inspirational stories about him over the years. In 2017, on the list of major high school students in the United States, Morant was all unsuccessful, becoming a veritable unknown person, a sporadic high school student. But since then, Morant has started his own counterattack path, and those who missed his team and once looked down on him must now regret it.
For example, the Pelicans, this season, the natural divine Zion Williamson, is still in a state of recuperation, and the relationship with the team seems to be imminent. But looking back at Morant, he averaged 26.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the field, and has entered the league's first-tier stars. If you haven't seen Morant's amazing show this season, you can check out this focus battle against the Grizzlies and Bulls today. A 360-degree aerial turn to the basket is enough to amaze everyone.
GIF
This season's Bulls and Grizzlies, ranked in the top three in the East and West, surprised many people. And Morant and DeRozan, both of whom are popular candidates for MVP. But apparently, in such a star-and-star showdown, Morant's 46 points were more convincing than DeRozan's 31 points.
It was Morant's career night, with 46 points setting a new career single-game scoring record. And 46 points, or the Grizzlies' regular season team history single-game scoring record, because the ancestors are not rich, the previous record belongs to the 2007 Mike Miller 45 points. And Morant is not an occasional appearance, this season, he has 5 games to get 40+, and the rest of the Grizzlies players, no one has got similar data. Morant established his unique historical position in Memphis with one game.
As one of the top brass in the East, the Bulls certainly didn't want Morant to act so recklessly, but throughout the game, they couldn't find a way to deal with the energetic youngster. During the game, the Bulls home team once put up Jordan's video during the suspension, perhaps trying to use the best ever to stimulate the Bulls players, but they may not have thought of it, which made Morant's blood boil. In the third quarter alone, Morant shot 6-of-7 and had 20 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, which is definitely a huge star.
If you don't watch Morant play very often, you may be amazed by his personal performance, but if you're a Grizzlies fan, you'll be calm and say a word of routine. In this league, there are many stars like their own BUFF, who can always play a super personal performance in a specific time period, such as Paul at the key moment, Klay in the sixth game, and Morant's BUFF in the third quarter. Before the game against the Bulls, Morant averaged 9.2 points per game in the third quarter of the season, which is also the league's record for any single quarter of the season.
The game between the Bulls and the Grizzlies was played at the United Center in Chicago. Watching Morant wreak havoc on the basket again and again, and finish the finish again and again, the Bulls have nothing to do, and it is not known whether Chicago fans will remember their once favorite Derrick Rose.
Indeed, Rose and Morant have a lot of similarities, they both have excellent physical fitness, wind-like speed, and their games are always so pleasing to the eye. They are both darlings of a city, the hope of a team's revival, and in the future, there may be other commonalities between the two, that is, the MVP of the regular season.
Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history in his third year. Since you are the most valuable player, first of all, you have to have enough value yourself, in the 2010-11 season, Rose averaged 25 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field.
Compared with Rose at that time, today's Morant is comparable in terms of data. The biggest gap between the two is probably the team's record. In the 2010-11 season, the Chicago Bulls won a total of 62 wins and 20 losses, ranking first in the league. The current Memphis Grizzlies, 42-20, are third in the West.
The Grizzlies are eight wins away from the league's number one Suns, and the team has lost 20 games, equaling the Bulls' record of that year, leaving only theoretical possibilities. However, the Grizzlies are only two wins behind the warriors in the league's second, and the current record is also the level of the top three in the league, if the Grizzlies eventually finish second in the West, then Morant's call for MVP may be different from now.
At least from the perspective of the US media, this possibility exists. According to the predictions of the "five thirty eight" website, the probability of the Grizzlies entering the playoffs this season is more than 99%, the probability of reaching the division finals is 11%, and the probability of winning the championship is also 4%, which can be said to be a standard strong team. In terms of specific records, the website predicts that the Grizzlies will eventually be able to achieve a 55-27 record, the same as the Golden State Warriors.
That is to say, the Grizzlies do have the possibility of overtaking the Warriors, and even if the two teams have the same record, the Grizzlies may be ranked ahead of the Warriors. In the first three meetings between the two sides this season, the Grizzlies have achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, of course, on March 29, Beijing time, the two teams will have the last meeting of the season.
In fact, in the eyes of many people, the team's record is enough to let Morant enter the MVP discussion, after all, a third-year player, leading the team to the third place in the league, which is definitely commendable. But the Grizzlies' second-place finish in the West is more important than their opponents, so they will outperform the Warriors in terms of record, knowing that Morant and Stephen Curry are direct competitors to the MVP.
In the latest NBA official MVP rankings, Jokic ranked first, Embiid second, Alphabet Brother third, DeRozan fourth, Curry fifth, Booker sixth, and Morant only seventh. After the ranking came out, many Memphis media outlets came out and attacked it as disrespectful to Morant.
Of course, the NBA's official website rankings are time-sensitive, such as DeRozan, who only ranked ninth in the previous issue, but with the mid-range shooting boy's continuous 30+ performances, he soared all the way. If Morant leads the Grizzlies and continues to win, especially if he continues today's performance in the second half of the season, it will undoubtedly increase Morant's hopes of winning the MVP.
The good thing for Morant is that his competitors are each facing some problems on the road to MVP. Jokic, for example, Jamal Murray will return in March, and Embiid has a James Harden next to him. But the downside is that Booker will certainly be in full swing after Paul's truce, and the Suns are still in the league for now. DeRozan has the potential to continue the magic of 30+, and as the defending champions, Alphabet Brother and Bucks may also open playoff mode early in the second half.
And, Morant plays for City Memphis, the NBA's standard small city team, and their lowest ticket price is only $6. Small cities mean less exposure. If Morant had played in big cities like the Lakers and Knicks, this kind of performance this season, I am afraid that Morant would have been blown into the sky long ago.
Like the All-Star vote, the MVP vote has a lot of subjective factors. And another unfavorable factor for Morant is that many people believe that the improvement of the Grizzlies' record this season is due to the improvement of the overall performance of the Grizzlies, and Morant has only played a role as a booster.
I don't know if you remember that at the beginning of the season, Morant missed 12 games due to injury, during which time the Grizzlies won 10-2. In the first game after Morant's return, the Grizzlies lost to the Thunder by 3 points, and the fans even gave Morant a boo at one point.
So you will feel that Morant has the strength to impact the MVP, but the distance is absolutely certain, and he still lacks something. However, this season's MVP scramble is so chaotic, the Grizzlies are young and impactful, playing with momentum, Morant does have a chance. And even if Morant does not get the Most Valuable Player this season, I believe he will establish his superstar status in your hearts. Morant is only 23 years old now, and his glory years have only just begun.