3 standout performers in Memphis Grizzlies’ preseason opener

Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
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Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Memphis Grizzlies basketball is back — at least to an extent. The Grizzlies took on the Milwaukee Bucks in each team’s first preseason contest last night, with the Grizzlies bringing home an 87-77 victory on their home court.

Why was the score so low, you ask?

In an odd turn of events, the fire alarm inside of FedEx Forum went off after the third quarter, which led to a delay. This delay, in turn, led to the eventual cancellation of the Grizzlies’ first preseason contest. Still, we were able to learn a lot about this team.

Here are three standout performers from the Grizzlies’ season opener.

Memphis Grizzlies Standout Performer No. 1: PG Ja Morant

I’m giving Ja Morant the shortest slide here despite the fact that he had the biggest performance on Tuesday night. The reason behind this is because I went into depth on his big performance in a post earlier today, where I detailed his performance against the Bucks.

That said, I couldn’t leave him out of an article about standout performers in the Grizzlies’ season opener.

On Tuesday, the third-year guard had a huge game, dropping 27 points in just 24 minutes of a game that was canceled after the third quarter. Morant also accumulated four assists and six rebounds on the night.

Most notably, perhaps, was the fact that he threw down three separate highlight-reel dunks. The first came when the lane opened up and the athletic point guard rose up with a dunk that was reminiscent of a young Russell Westbrook. Or an old Russell Westbrook, either way.

He’d throw down another tomahawk dunk on the night and follow it with a reverse jam after a De’Anthony Melton steal. Speaking of which…