Ja Morant’s message, after the Grizzlies lost in historic fashion to open up their first-round playoff series against the Thunder, was straightforward.
Memphis’ 51-point loss Sunday in Oklahoma City was the worst in franchise playoff history and led the Grizzlies’ superstar to declare that it would “never” happen again.
“We’ll never play that bad again,” Morant told reporters matter-of-factly after the game.
The Grizzlies surely will want to erase their performance Sunday from their minds, but it’s one that will be hard for fans to forget.
ESPN Research called Sunday’s loss the fifth-highest margin in an NBA playoff game, with the last loss as lopsided as this one occurring back in 2015 when the Bulls toppled the Bucks by 54 points.
Memphis players were trying to keep things in perspective when they addressed reporters after the loss, with Desmond Bane pointing out the fact that there was still plenty of series left to play.
“At the end of the day, it’s one game,” Bane said, according to The Commercial Appeal. “If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result we wanted, for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get one on the road in two days.”
Oklahoma City led by as many as 56 points and didn’t play any starters during the fourth quarter.
“Luckily for us, there’s only one way from this, and that’s up,” Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo told reporters, per ESPN. “We will analyze it, we’ll learn from it, and then we will fix those things that hurt us. But there were a lot of things.”
Morant finished with 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting and recorded four assists.
Memphis will have a chance to show it can rebound from the ugly start to the series when it plays Game 2 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
Exciting Ja Morant News Revealed Amid NBA Playoffs
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies are set to begin their first-round playoff series on Sunday, facing the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a best-of-seven matchup.
Morant was impressive in Friday night’s play-in victory over the Dallas Mavericks, posting 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help secure Memphis’ spot in the postseason.
On Saturday night, the eve of Game 1, Morant made headlines with some exciting news for the NBA community.
Nick DePaula from Boardroom helped share the news for Morant: “Ja Morant will debut his 3rd Nike signature shoe to begin the Playoffs.”
Morant spoke more with Boardroom’s DePaula about the new sneakers, offering insight into his creative vision for the design: “I told them, ‘Don’t be scared. Push it. Make it rugged, make it different.’ And they ran with it,”.
The star guard has already released multiple basketball shoe models under his Nike partnership, including the Ja 2 “Black Label” edition, which dropped during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Morant has been a cornerstone of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise since being selected with the second overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Since then, the electrifying guard has earned two NBA All-Star selections and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020.
This season, Morant averaged 23.2 points and 7.3 assists per game, despite a shortened campaign due to injury and suspension.
The Grizzlies are aiming to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
