How Ja Morant can overcome doubts about his game with Memphis Grizzlies

Shooting

Some people have expressed concern about Morant’s ability to shoot the basketball, wondering if he’ll be able to to be successful in the league without getting to the hoop on every offensive possession.

Bad shooting form is a scary issue, even for a lottery pick. Just last year former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz found himself relegated to the sideline because he tried to tinker with his jumper and messed up his shoulder.

Morant’s shooting stats, all of them, improved drastically between his freshman and sophomore year and are continuing to trend upward. Sure, the kid needs to get reps from NBA range, making sure his form doesn’t deviate, but Morant is so quick off the dribble, and his lateral movement is so fluid that defenders will have no choice but to give him space and respect his drive.

He shot 36 percent from three last year, and while his percentage may not be quite that high during his rookie year, don’t expect it to be low enough to make him a liability from beyond 25 feet.

Ja Morant is already doing great things for the Grizzlies’ organization. He’s very active on twitter, interacting with the Memphis community. He’s supporting his teammates at the Las Vegas summer league, even though he couldn’t play himself.

He’s best buds with JJJ, the young face of the Grizzlies franchise.

There are naysayers out there who will tell you that Ja will be a bust in the league because he’s never faced strong competition, he’s got a bum knee, he can’t play defense or any number of other reasons. Don’t listen to them.

Expect Ja Morant to be the second Grizzly in two years represented on the NBA All-Rookie team. Expect Ja Morant to lead this team to the playoffs in the 2020-2021 season. Expect Ja Morant to step into the enormous shoes recently vacated by Mike Conley. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.