The 2022 NBA Playoffs gave fans multiple superstars and probable future champs, among them, were Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and Ja Morant.
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The Memphis Grizzlies as a whole were a menace throughout the season. They were playing some outstanding basketball throughout the 2021-22 campaign even when their budding superstar, Ja Morant was out injured.
In fact, there was a lot of noise around the fact that the Grizzlies were playing better without their All-Star guard. And it became serious when they had two long winning streaks without him.
They were evidently a great team without him with a 20-5 record in his absence, that is the reason why they were able to finish as the team’s second-best record (56-26) in the NBA, not just West.
But as great as Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. are, they are no replacement for Ja, and that became pretty evident in the Playoffs when he went out injured.
Despite playing just 9 games, Ja Morant was the most clutch player in the 2022 NBA Playoffs
The only team that really troubled the Golden State Warriors, the eventual 2022 NBA Champs, were Memphis. And they did so with Ja doing his thing against a fit and healthy trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the 3x champions.
Before he got injured, in the three games of the Western Conference Semi-finals, Morant averaged 38.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists shooting 26/46 in the paint and 13/30 from the perimeter.
Including we include the 6-games first round, Morant with just 9 games under his belt, with an unbelievable average of 27.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.0 steals, had more clutch shots than anybody else in the 2022 Playoffs.
Yes, neither East Conference Finals MVP Jayson Tatum nor WCF MVP Curry, nobody in the postseason was more clutch than Ja who took the Warriors to 3 close games and won one. No other team in the West took them to even two. Superstar!
