Memphis Grizzlies: Watch Ja Morant turn into a center and swat a 7-footer

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers twice away from home, but couldn’t replicate the same type of performance on their home court. Damian Lillard and his supporting cast would demolish the Grizzlies, handing them a 21-point loss in a game that was supposed to be close.

Among other things, this game exposed something that Grizzlies fans already knew — this team is capable of completely imploding on any given night. That said, the Grizzlies are also entirely capable of having a great game with almost zero time to recover.

But among the awful performance by the Grizzlies as a team, they kept up with their highlight play quota, as Ja Morant kept this team’s entertainment value through the roof, even in a blowout loss at FedEx Forum.

Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant registered a jaw-dropping block against Portland

Even on the worst nights for the Memphis Grizzlies, there are a handful of players who can make astonishing plays. The most impressive of those players? Ja Morant, the second-year point guard out of Murray State.

Morant could have an objectively terrible game from start to finish and he’d still find a way to sneak in a play for his highlight reel. In fact, despite solid assist numbers, Morant did have a pretty terrible game, so this trend held true against the Blazers.

Usually, Morant’s highlight comes in the form of a flashy pass, dribble move, or posterizing slam dunk. On Wednesday, it came in the form of a block. But not just any block.

As you can see, Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson Jr. were not in the paint, indicating that the Grizzlies needed a new shot-blocking big man. Morant decided to step in, sizing up a seven-foot center in Jusuf Nurkic and rejecting him.

It would be dishonest to act surprised that Morant was capable of this, as he is consistently one of the most explosive athletes who shows off his jumping ability on a nightly basis. Even so, his hang time on this rejection was extremely impressive.

Unfortunately, his game didn’t match on Wednesday night, as he totaled just 10 points and 8 assists with 4 turnovers. Hopefully, he’ll get back on track on Friday against the Orlando Magic.