Ja Morant’s high-flying dunks are part of what has made him arguably the most entertaining player in the league and a fan favorite.
Expect a lot fewer of those moments going forward.
On Tuesday night in Dallas, Morant had a steal and a breakaway in the second quarter, but he ended up throwing down a basic two-handed dunk that is not going to make any highlight packages. When asked about it postgame, Morant said he is trying not to dunk in an attempt to avoid injuries. Here’s his quote, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“I’m not trying to dunk at all,” Morant said… “Y’all think I’m lying. I’m dead serious.”
“Sometimes I get knocked out the air and [a foul] don’t get called, and now I’m out longer than what I’m supposed to be,” Morant said, explaining why he doesn’t want to dunk in traffic. “Sometimes the foul might get called; I still hit the floor, but after the game you might feel that little fall. So I just pick and choose, man. Hey, two points is two points. I get it done. That’s all that matters.”
Saying he has been “knocked out of the air” appears to be in reference to last month when he went up to finish an alley-oop and had his legs taken out from under him by Lakers center Christian Koloko. Morant suffered a hip injury on that fall that kept him out for eight games.
Morant has long battled injuries — he has played in just 12 of the team’s 22 games this season — but it came with his aggressive style where he seemed to throw his body around getting to the rim, like previous fan favorites before him such as Derrick Rose or Dwyane Wade. Both of those players had injuries that altered the trajectory of their careers, and a maturing Morant is clearly taking a step back and considering his game and his career.
It’s a fine line for Morant to walk, playing his aggressive, attacking game while also trying to protect his body and be on the court for his teammates more. The Grizzlies need him as Morant averages 22 points and 8.6 assists a game, is an elite shot creator and the team outscores its opponents by 13.7 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.
Hopefully, we still get a few high-flying dunks. As fans, we would miss those.
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