Who is the best star to perform so far?
There are many options, Curry, Durant, Bridges, George, Brown all played well at the beginning of the new season, and Morante is definitely worthy of nomination.
So far, the Grizzlies have played three games, and Morant has played extremely well in each of those three games:
Against the Cavaliers, 17-of-29, with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks
— Against the Clippers, he was 10-of-19, with 28 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists
Against the Lakers, 13-of-21, with 40 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 blocks
In three games, Morant averaged 35.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game, shooting 58.0% from the field, 44.4% from three-point range, and 67.1% from the true shooting range.
——Opener 35+5+5, the second youngest in NBA history
—— 35 points, 10 assists and 5 three-pointers in a single game, the second person in team history
- 40 points and 10 assists in a single game, the first person in team history
—— The first three games scored a total of 105 points, the first person in team history
Under Morant's leadership, the Grizzlies won two of those three games, including against the Clippers, and unfortunately, at the end of the game against the Lakers, Morant had the opportunity to tie the score with free throws, but he missed the opportunity by making two of three free throws on the free throw line.
Still, Morant's performance has been excellent, especially compared to last season — Last season, Morant averaged 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game, which is good for a second-year rookie, but Morant's efficiency is actually not outstanding, shooting only 44.9%/30.3%/72.8% of the three shots, and the true shooting rate is 53.7%, even worse than the 55.6% of the rookie season.
This is also Morant's biggest shortcoming, he can occasionally deliver a burst performance, and often land on the top ten goals, the playoff victory over the Warriors is even more amazing, the playoffs also faced the Jazz scored 47 points, but combined with a whole season of play, Morant is still difficult to talk about the All-Star level.
However, this season, Morant is really different, and in the three games that have ended, Morant's attack frame is still sharp, the passing vision and level are still excellent, and the ability to hold the ball and shoot in the face of defenders has been greatly enhanced, which will be an important step for him to become a superstar.
It is no exaggeration to say that in the first three games, Morant has shown not only the All-Star level, but even the quasi-MVP level - of course, the sample is small and the randomness is high, but if he can continue to output so crazy, MVP, who says it is impossible?
Listen, it seems a little far away?
Let's go back to 2010, before the 2010-11 season officially began, Rose gave an interview, the reporter asked him: "In the past two years you won the best rookie, and you went to the All-Star, we all know that you are not afraid of challenges, so what is your goal for the third year?" ”
Rose's response was: "Why can't I be MVP, why can't I be the best player in the league?" ”
At the time, many fans didn't take Rose's words seriously, or even as a joke — I really don't blame the fans, in the previous season, Rose didn't get any MVP votes, the first round of the playoffs was eliminated early, and almost no one in the prediction before the start of the new season thought rose could win MVP.
As a result, we all know that Rose really won an MVP in the third-year season, and he is still the youngest MVP player in NBA history to this day - Morant is only two months older than Rose in the same period, and if he really gets the MVP, he will become the second youngest MVP after Rose.
Morant and Rose are really a bit alike, both are athletic, explosive, extremely fast point guards, very strong in the attack frame, after the game to beat the Clippers, George said: "Morant reminds me of derrick Rose who is still in the MVP season." ”
Compared to Rose that year, Morant needs not only to continue to maintain his current state, but also to support the record, which is also the most difficult point - the Bulls record in 2011 is the first in the East, last year's Grizzlies were only on the edge of the playoffs, this year they have not changed much, Dillon is still injured and can't play, and it is very difficult to break through in the West.
The dust has not settled, you and I are dark horses, I hope that Morant can continue to maintain the current hot state, he has been bringing surprises to fans since the beginning of the draft, this year, MVP is a bit far away, start with all-stars, the best team.