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    • Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant shines after playing free vs Bucks
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    Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant shines after playing free vs Bucks

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    The last two games would not make Ja Morant more cautious.

    No.

    The Memphis Grizzlies star played like a player without a conscience on Thursday night. But in a good way,

    Morant drove to the basket with the ball in his left hand. Rookie Grizzlies center Zach Edey ran down the middle of the floor, right behind him, with all attention focused on Morant. Suddenly, Morant threw a pass off the backboard that slipped out of Edey’s hands.

    Do you think this was the wildest Morant pass of the day? No.

    Earlier in the game, Morant lay on the ground, surrounded by Bucks players trying to grab the ball from his hands. Morant did a few pump fakes before launching an alley-oop to Santi Aldama while sitting on the ground.

    “I thought that was crazy,” Grizzlies point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. said. “I don’t even know why he tried that.”

    Pippen would not have attempted the second pass. Maybe not even the one for Edey, but plays like this make Morant special.

    The star Grizzlies point guard shined at FedExForum on Thursday night. He finished with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, securing his 12th career triple-double.

    The key to the performance was “free play,” Morant said. He had no doubts about the pass with Edey, about Aldama or about any of the dazzling moments of Thursday’s victory (122-99).

    “I play freely,” Morant said. ‘With me you deal with loss of turnover. I always try to play the right game.”

    Morant’s appearance came at the right time. The Grizzlies (3-3) had lost two straight games to teams they wanted to beat.

    The atmosphere in the locker room after Wednesday’s defeat was disappointing, and things did not get better due to the mounting injuries. Starters Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart left early Wednesday and both were unavailable Thursday. The Grizzlies are currently awaiting updates that will provide more clarity on their return timelines.

    It was time for Morant to become the superstar. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins increased his minutes workload and gave him longer rotation stints. The result was that Morant was plus-29 in 29 minutes.

    “He has been preparing for this and this has been part of our plan that is being rolled out,” Jenkins said. “He missed a game a few nights ago. This has been six (games) in nine (days), so how he responded… but at a high pace. “

    Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

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