Ja Morant was frustrated after a rough shooting night (3-of-14) and scoring just eight points in a loss to the Lakers on Halloween. After the game, he threw the coaches under the bus.
The next afternoon, the Grizzlies suspended Morant one game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Morant will miss Sunday night’s game at Toronto.
After Friday night’s loss to the Lakers, Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo reportedly challenged Morant’s leadership and effort in front of the team, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. Following that, Morant appeared to blame the coaches when speaking to reporters. Check out this exchange (via Lopo on X).
Reporter: “What went wrong for you today?”
“Go ask the coaching staff,” Morant responded.
Reporter: “From the outside… it didn’t feel like you had your usual energy tonight.”
“Go ask the coaching staff why,” Morant replied.
Reporter: “What could have been done differently, other than asking the coaching staff?”
“According to them, probably don’t play me, honestly,” Morant said. “That’s basically what the message was. It’s cool.”
Iisalo had a point. Morant has to shoulder at least some of the blame, he had a low-effort game, which Blake Griffin called Morant out on during the NBA on Prime broadcast. What separates the game’s great leaders — from the veterans like LeBron James and Stephen Curry to the rising stars like Anthony Edwards — is that they bring it every night. Morant did not do that on Friday.
Morant is averaging 20.8 points per game this season(his lowest number since 2021) and is playing 28.5 minutes a game (the fewest of his career). However, the offense is running through him, he is averaging 75.8 touches a game, up sharply from the 67.7 a game he got last season (and very close to the 77.8 and 77 a game he got his All-Star seasons).
