Earlier today, before being diagnosed with covid-19, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was interviewed by reporters and asked: How will Morant's failure to play affect the game?
Kerr replied: "The Grizzlies are 20-5 in a game without him, they are a very good team with a deep roster. ”
The main purpose of Kerr's words is of course to remind his players not to take it lightly because the other side's star is absent, but it also tells a fact: this season, in the absence of Morant, the Grizzlies have performed better, which has also triggered a lot of netizens to ridicule "who is embarrassed".
But without Morant's Grizzlies, is it really a better team? After watching today's game, I believe that everyone should be able to have a clear judgment.
We have to respect the data and the facts: The current Grizzlies, without Morant, do have some links that do better. It's no coincidence that this year's regular season, without Morant's game, the Grizzlies have a whopping 80 percent win rate (20-5), and when Morant is able to play healthy, they have a "63.2 percent" win rate (36 wins and 21 losses).
First, the Grizzlies performed better defensively without Morant.
As we all know, Morant is amazingly talented, but not a defensive player, which is related to his slim body and the reason for the habits of play that he has developed over the years, and in terms of personal style, there is some "separation" between him and this team with the obvious "city of grinding" brand.
According to statistics, when Morant was on the floor this year, the Grizzlies lost 111.2 points per 100 rounds, equivalent to the midstream level of the league, probably ranking 16th; and when Morant was not on the court, the Grizzlies only lost 104.1 points per 100 rounds, which was better than the Celtics, who were the first in the league in defensive efficiency.
When bench point guard Tyres Jones replaced Morant, he was more active defensively, and his extremely low turnover rate invisibly reduced the chances of the opponent to initiate a quick attack counterattack.
Second, without Morant, the Grizzlies' adventurous offensive options were significantly reduced, and the protection of the ball was better.
Morant has the highest bouncing and waist strength in history, which makes it difficult for him to resist the temptation to stay on the ground and play. In almost every game, Morant staged advanced moves that few other players could accomplish, throwing himself in the air and relying on extra-long lags to complete the partition, pull bar, or difficult pass.
But Morant's choices, accompanied by high risks, became the best of the day, and the failure to play was a mistake, handing the ball directly to the opponent and making the team pay the price.
Jones is at the other extreme compared to Morant, who has limited talent but a cool head, a good big-picture view and rarely makes mistakes. This season, Jones has a 7-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (46 of the 324 assists), ranking first in the league. When he replaced Morant on the field, he did a better job of directing the entire team. And this, in turn, leads to the following third dimension.
Without Morant, the Grizzlies' offense is more team-oriented and more unpredictable.
Morant had already played an All-Star last season, but at the time, the Grizzlies were only 5-4 in games without him. The reason why the Grizzlies have been able to improve their record significantly this season, and perform amazingly without Morant, is because of Bain's huge improvement, because of Jackson's recovery, and therefore Adams' huge help in the interior rebounding.
To put it simply, the reason why the Grizzlies have become today's Grizzlies is not the credit of Morant alone, Morant is only the best representative of this team. In the absence of Morant, he still has a lot of offensive weapons and makes it more difficult for opponents to find the focus of defense.
Taking today's game as an example, Jackson's personal usage in Morant's absence was greatly improved (like most games without Morant in the regular season), and although the outside feel was cold, he still scored a team-high 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting from three points. Statistics show that when Jackson scored more than 20 points this season, the Grizzlies' record was 21 wins and 6 losses.
In addition, Jones, who started in Morant, also scored 19 points today, and Kyle Anderson, who averaged 5.3 points in the first three games of the series, scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, not counting the cold Brooks and Bane...
Combined with the above reasons, it is not difficult to understand why the Grizzlies were able to play such an amazing performance in the regular season when Morant was not there, and why they were able to lead the Warriors for most of the time today.
But does that mean that without Morant, the Grizzlies would be a "better team"? The answer is clearly no. Because for a team that ranks second in the division in the regular season, the only yardstick for success or failure is whether it can go further in the playoffs and whether it can laugh to the end when facing real competitors.
The Grizzlies' role players secured the team's lower bounds, just like the first 45 minutes of today's game. Morant, on the other hand, decides what kind of height this team can reach, whether it can go further.
In this game, the Grizzlies relied on team efforts and took the initiative almost the entire game, until 2 minutes and 58 seconds before the final game, Jackson hit a layup and led the Warriors by 2 points at 92-90.
But in the next decisive moment, they deeply felt the impact of not having Morant — Jones's difficult throw missed, Brooks broke through the layup and was covered, Brooks retreated to three-pointers, and Jackson forced Green to fail. At the same time, the opposite star Curry continued to make fouls and walked to the free throw line, giving the Warriors a three-point lead in the final 25.9 seconds 96-93, forcing the Grizzlies to only take foul tactics.
Even at this point, the Grizzlies still have a chance to tie the score, but Morant is not there, they can only choose to trust Jackson, and as a result, JJJ, who has lost all 5 shots on the outside of the game, has increased his three-point play to 7 times. Brooks finally regained his grip in the last 1 second, but to no avail.
At this time, the Grizzlies fans must miss Morant. The 22-year-old All-Star averaged 38.3 points in his first three series games against the Warriors, including 11 points per game in the fourth quarter, topping out of all players who competed in the division semifinals. In the face of the life and death moment of "this attack must be scored", no one is more trustworthy than Morant. In the second game of the series, the Grizzlies were able to defeat the Warriors 106-101, relying on Morant's extraordinary performance at the last minute, and that game, it can even be said that Morant alone defeated the Warriors.
And today, when the Grizzlies took the lead into the final three minutes of the final minute, only to find their star sitting off the court in civilian clothes, they knew better than ever what Morant meant to them.
In this game, the Warriors actually did not perform better than the Grizzlies, but when the game was played to the end, the Warriors had Curry, who scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, and the Grizzlies did not have Morant, so the victory and defeat were known.