PHOENIX — Maybe Ja Morant is right.
No, not about the opinion on the Western Conference. That’s yet to be determined.
But when you talk with the confidence that Morant and some of his Memphis Grizzlies teammates display, it can be a lose-lose in the eyes of the critics.
After Morant said that the Grizzlies are “fine” in the Western Conference, Memphis responded by defeating the Phoenix Suns 125-100 at the Footprint Center. The Grizzlies (20-11) led wire to wire against a Suns team that may have been missing all-star shooting guard Devin Booker, but still featured a plethora of talent.
“I feel like no matter what, it’s always going to be something,” Morant said. “Even though we won this game, obviously they wasn’t at full strength, so that’s going to be the thing now. If we had to lose, they couldn’t wait to say ‘yea, since Ja said this they lost.’ It’s going to be that way every time.”
One thing for sure: The Grizzlies are going to talk.
A lot of chirping took place against the Suns (19-14). On most nights when the Grizzlies are talking, Morant and Dillon Brooks are somewhere in the midst. Morant spent most of his time talking to the players on the floor, and Brooks was right there each time. When Brooks and Torrey Craig traded words after a timeout in the first quarter, most players from both teams came to split Brooks and Craig up, but Morant walked over and joined in on the conversation.
“He already know anytime something going on, 12 right there,” Morant said. “Me and him know the team normally follows when we bring the energy. (Opponents) try to bring it to us, they got to be ready to receive it right back.”
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Craig isn’t the guy Brooks did most of his talking to. As Booker sat on the Suns’ bench, Brooks often looked in his direction. It’s not uncommon for Brooks to express his desire to guard the league’s best scorers, so he’s already looking forward to his next matchup against Booker on Dec. 27 at FedExForum. And he made sure to remind the Suns shooting guard.
“I told him I really wanted him,” Brooks said. “I told him, too, so I hope he plays in (Memphis) so I can guard him. He ain’t scoring 50 on me.”
Even though the Grizzlies looked like a team on a mission on Friday night, Morant will be the first to tell you that there’s much more to work on. He noted that the Grizzlies have to find more ways to “spread the ball out and let guys be themselves.” Memphis shot seven of 23 on 3-pointers, and Morant finished four of 14 shooting with 12 points.
Memphis still was able to have an explosive offensive performance in large part because of the Desmond Bane effect. On Brooks’ first 3-pointer of the game, he got a wide open look after Bane drew extra attention from the defense. Bane scored 17 points and made four of 13 shots in 24 minutes.
“A lot of more open shots, the paint was a lot more open,” Brooks said. “Glad we have him back.”
Brandon Clarke, who scored a season-high 24 points spent a lot of time on the floor with Bane at the beginning of the second quarter.
“Playing with him is real easy because guys just always chasing him, so I can just slip and roll to the basket.”
Bane’s return was the energy boost Memphis needed after losing its first two games of the four-game road trip. He mentioned how he didn’t know how his foot would react, but he ended up feeling good.
“I felt solid,” Bane said. “It will take me a couple games to get my wind under me, get my cardio back to where it needs to be.”
There has been a lot of talk about how the Grizzlies would look with their full starting lineup. Friday night was the first glance into the group’s potential.
Steven Adams dominated his matchup against Deandre Ayton and helped hold the Suns center to five rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. played bully ball against a smaller Suns lineup on his way to 24 points and 10 rebounds, Brooks was excellent on both ends of the floor, Bane was aggressive and Morant finished with 11 assists.
So after Morant put the Western Conference on notice, the win against the Suns sent a league-wide message.
“We don’t fear nobody,” Brooks said. “We got a different type of swag to us.”
[Video] Youtube Stephen A. says Ja Morant & the Grizzlies are the best team in the West 🐻 | NBA Countdown
Stephen A. says Ja Morant & the Grizzlies are the best team in the West 🐻 | NBA Countdown
On NBA Countdown, Stephen A. Smith, Jalen Rose, Michael Wilbon and Mike Greenberg debate the best team in the Western Conference.
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