“It Can Get Ugly for the Grizzlies”: Ja Morant’s 25-Game Suspension Highlights Jaren Jackon Jr.’s Weaknesses for DeMarcus Cousins

Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus Cousins used the recent episode of Bully Ball to talk about the Memphis Grizzlies’ poor start to the season. Struggling in the absence of their talisman Ja Morant, the Grizzlies have started with a 1-6 record and have struggled to get going on both sides of the court. Nichols asked Cousins what are his thoughts with respect to the team not performing well enough.

Cousins claimed that he was somewhere near asking the front office to target a shuffle via trades. He talked about how Jaren Jackson Jr. has been asked to fill in at the Center due to Steven Adam’s absence,

“I am at queueing up the trade machine right about now. The reason I say that, your former defensive player of the year in Jaren Jackson is averaging 7.6 a game. You lost your starting center in Steven Adams, so you are depending on Jaren Jackson to fill a role even bigger than what he is accustomed to,”

Cousins said, highlighting how Jackson was simply not putting in the effort required to start for his team at the Center.

“When it comes to rebounding and being a big man, the only thing that goes into it is effort. So if you can’t get effort from your starting big to average a double-double, you are in trouble,” Cousins said. 

The former Kings superstar then talked about how the team was also missing their best player, in the form of Ja Morant.

“Also with Ja Morant being out for 15 plus games, it could get ugly for the Grizzlies, they don’t really have the scoring punch that they are used to,” Cousins said.

A 1-6 start to the season coupled with the fact that Morant is unavailable for a further 18 games to come, means that the Grizzlies might be staring at quick playoff irrelevancy if things do not change quickly.

Stephen A. Smith is also concerned about the Memphis Grizzlies

Speaking before the Grizzlies recorded their first win of the season against the Trail Blazers recently, Stephen A. Smith had also expressed concern at how their season had started. Smith claimed that nobody would have been expressing concern for the Grizzlies had Morant been playing.

Calling them title contenders when the young superstar is available, he expressed cause for concern by the fact that the team was winless in six without him. The claims came just 2 weeks after Smith had initially said Morant would return to the NBA with a noted vengeance.

He claimed that Morant will be extra motivated to wreak havoc on other teams when he returns due to the form the Grizzlies have been in. Smith had expressed confidence over the Grizzlies’ chances this season, claiming that nobody should be sleeping on them.