Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has received plenty of criticism this season. Starting off with his off-court controversies earlier this year. The youngster was suspended for flashing a gun in a nightclub. He posted that video on social media making things even worse.
There were allegations against him for flashing a gun in a pickup basketball game, played back near his home in the summer.
Before all these issues against him, many people considered Morant one of the biggest talents in the NBA. But after the infamous incident, they started changing their decisions on him. While most people thought he was a leader, they started believing something else after the fiasco earlier this year.
NBA analyst Tim McMahon was one of those guys who had earlier praised Morant a lot. He even went on to say that the Grizzlies’ main man will be a leader like Damian Lillard. But in a recent “Howdy Partners” podcast, he has considered it as his biggest mistake and also criticized Morant for not showing enough maturity.
“The biggest mistake I’ve made about Ja’s career is when I compared him to Damian Lillard as a leader,” McMahon stated. “Ja is not that. He’s not a grown up yet. He’s a front-runner right now. He’s not accountable. He’s got to look into the mirror and ask himself who am I?”
Morant and Grizzlies recently fought their way back in Game 5 to make the score 3-2 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Morant dropped a 31-point double-double as the Grizzlies won 116-99.
He had a slow start to this series and his team paid the price for that. He missed Game 2 due to injury, putting the Grizzlies in more trouble.
Earlier, even Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was not happy after Game 4, he criticized his team. But also made sure they improve on the areas they fell short. “We’re far from where we need to be from a maturity standpoint,” Jenkins said. “This is all experience that you can only gain from,” he stated.
“So, nothing’s gonna change overnight, but when we wear it, and we understand the struggles we’re going through individually, collectively, on, off the court and all that stuff, and we sit down and we honestly talk about it, and we face it, you’re hopefully gonna turn the corner for sure.”
His pep talk certainly worked as the Grizzlies have now won Game 5 and will travel to Los Angeles with the hope of equalizing the tie. While Lakers will be hoping to close it down in the next game.
