On March 29, Beijing time, the NBA regular season, the Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 123-95 and won 5 consecutive wins. The Grizzlies played a 43-21 single-quarter score in the second quarter, successfully pulling the score difference, and in the third quarter, they have taken a lead of more than 30 points, making the game completely lose suspense. In the end, the Grizzlies won a big victory at home. After the game, Morant teased himself through social media, praising the team's recent hot status.
The Grizzlies continue their dark horse nature, they are currently in second place in the West with 53 wins and 23 losses, and the Warriors no. 3 have pulled away from each other for five wins, very close to locking up a second place in the West. As long as the Grizzlies win the next game later, or the Lone Rangers lose another game, they will directly lock in the Southwest Region championship, which will also be the first time in the history of the Grizzlies to win the Southwest Region Championship. With tickets locked up for the playoffs, the Grizzlies look very relaxed.
Although the star of the club, Morant, was absent due to injury, the team was not affected by this. In five games after Morant's knee injury, the Grizzlies won all of them. According to statistics, when Morant was absent this season, the Grizzlies achieved a magical 20-18 record with a 90% win rate. Judging by the winning percentage alone, the Grizzlies are even stronger without Morant than the '96 Bulls and '16 Warriors. The Grizzlies fully explain the charm of team basketball and will not be stretched out by the lack of a player. The media began to speak out, saying that it would be better without morant Grizzlies.
After the game, Morant posted on his social media account that he teased his current situation on the team. Morant said everyone was talking about his absence, when the Grizzlies achieved a staggering 18-2 record. Like a cheerleader, he was responsible for raising his arms and cheering for the team. Obviously, Morant did not take the outside public opinion to heart, he was proud of the team's achievements, but also a response to the media. During his absence, he was always on the spot to accompany the team in and out.
But that record doesn't erase Morant's value to the team. Us media StatMuse listed the opponents of the Grizzlies in these 18 wins, and wanted to use them to rehabilitate Morant, they were:
Rockets (2 times), Kings (2 times), Pacers (2 times), Blazers, Pelicans, Lakers, Raptors, Nets, Thunder without Alexander, Clippers without George and Leonard, Lone Rangers without Doncic, Heat without Adebayo, Philadelphia without Embiid, Bucks without Holliday and Warriors without big three.
It can be seen that during Morant's absence, a large part of the opponents the Grizzlies defeated were at the middle and lower levels, and even the strong teams they defeated also suffered certain personnel injuries, and there was a certain degree of contingency, which did not completely prove that the Grizzlies would get better without Morant.
Morant has averaged 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season, successfully selected for the All-Star starting lineup, and is the team's well-deserved All-Star player, whose importance to the team is self-evident. Under Morant's leadership, the Grizzlies have the capital to go further in the playoffs and launch a charge towards the championship.
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)