Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was deeply hurt when he was asked to sit out by the same fans who were chanting MVP for him last month.
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After the historic 73-point win against the Thunder earlier this month, Memphis Grizzlies lost by 3 last night. It was the proper rematch OKC was expecting after the embarrassing loss. Shai Gilgous-Alexander did not sit out this time. In addition, Ja Morant returned to the Grizzlies’ starting lineup after missing 12 games.
Although the game started with Memphis completely dominating in the first quarter. They had a 12-point lead and a similar outcome as last time was expected. However, Thunder bounced back and outscored the Grizzlies every quarter thereon.
The final minute of the game was wild with multiple lead changes. In the end, Lu Dort and Josh Giddey drilled clutch free throws to win it on the road. It was a tough loss for the Grizzlies, especially Ja Morant who had to endure a lot of courtside heckling in his first game back at home.
Fans tell Ja Morant that Memphis Grizzlies are better without him
The Memphis Grizzlies were 10-2 without Ja Morant and climbed up to 4th seed in the western conference. They defeated Miami Heat, LA Lakers without their star point guard. Even the 73-point win over OKC came after Morant was sidelined.
In his first game back Ja scored 16 points on 50% FG and 8 assists in 28 minutes. He was not the primary reason behind the loss last night, however, he became the scapegoat.
Frustrated Ja Morant recounted a heckling incident after the game, “Even during the game, I was running down the court and I heard some of my fans courtside tell me I need to sit back out. So, I just don’t understand what they wanted to get out of that. I feel like that just makes it worse.”
off social media for awhile ✌🏽 anybody who need me got my # .
love is love 🖤
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 21, 2021
Comments like these coming from the home crowd can be devastating for a player. Before the injury, he led them past several top-seeded teams dropping 30 every other night but the fans seem to have forgotten about that. He is getting heavily trolled on Twitter as well. As a result, the 22-year old has decided to stay off of it for a while.
“I’m just frustrated. Normally — y’all have seen it — when anybody says something negative about me, it fuels me. But, tonight, the remarks from the fans actually hurt.”
They will face the top-seeded Golden State Warriors next. Ja Morant and the Grizzlies kept them from making the playoffs last season and gave them their first loss this season. He hopes to bounce back against Stephen Curry and co.
