The One Big Problem with Ja Morant
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2022
- #NBA #Grizzlies #JaMorant
Ja Morant is doubtful for the rest of the playoffs but his team put up a fight against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. It’s not a shock that Memphis is competitive because they showed that during the regular season while Ja was injured. This is a look at why the Grizz are so good without their superstar and reveals the one big problem with Ja’s game.
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He needs to learn from Westbrook on how to land properly man. That is one thing I have to give Westbrook credit for. He is always in control of his body in the air. Ja reckless on offense with his crazy drives which are great but ought to be more controlled. He is also bad on defense yes he gets highlights on defense due to his athleticism but he relies too much on it hence why he is so bad on defense. It seems he might have gotten himself injured due to jumping out at Klay on a contested 3. Maybe a couple offseason of gaining some muscle will also help him become more controlled in the air.
Yo you Nigerian bro
I think the only thing keeping him from getting more injured is because of how lean he is. More weight with that athleticism will make the landings harder like Zion. He needs to learn how to land first properly like how Jordan had to learn to do after he broke his foot. Jordan started landing a lot more gracefully after that but in college he jumped like ja and drose
Maclean naija no dey cary last
@@macleantooreal Yes sir 🇳🇬
@@olamideolanrewaju6581 fasho I'm Nigerian American
You nailed it! VERY few players can survive long in the league if their game is based on jumping out of the gym or out-quicking everyone. Too much physical punishment to do that for too long. If he does does develop a CP3 mid-range and SLOWS DOWN, he will be deadly for years to come and have a long career. I didn't realize Jones led the league in A2TO ratio! Great video!
Build muscle and get a better 3pt shot. It’s like lebron. For long he relied on freak athleticism, but then had to develop his game game and work on his skill
The only reason CP survived was because of his intelligence. CP was very similar to ja when he was dropping 21 PPG in his early days and somewhere along the line realized he didnt need to go 1000% to be as effective and realized shooting and not always high flying to the rim was more beneficial and he could produce the same without cutting his career short.
@@jamorant6745 bruuh lebron always had skill.
@@hunterzolomon1303 If you look at his early years in the NBA (so up until his Miami days), LeBron relied mostly on drives to the basket in order to score. Heck, one of the tactics against him is to force him to shoot mid-range jumpers, which he is really bad on. Then comes the 2nd Cavs days, where LeBron combined his athleticism, his basketball IQ, and his mid-range and 3pt shooting to reach his prime (and I'm on the opinion that LeBron's prime as a player is in his Cavs days, since he has the strength, speed, accuracy, and passing needed to be a 1-man army).
@@lordpaulphilippfernandez9904 His 2nd season in Miami onward was his Prime. What he did to Boston facing elimination, mostly pull up jumpers, fadeaways etc, with crazy efficiency.
It proves that they need to act as if they aren't playing him. Then pull him out in the 4th quarter to close. Because even Dray said they have to rethink their whole defensive approach. JA needs to save his knees, or he will end up with a serious career ending injury. He should only take wide open dunks. Then instead use his quickness to reach into his bag and try to add a quick Kyrie like pull-up inside. To make the defense back off a bit and get an easier 2 points.
I kinda agree expect the part about benching him in 4th quarters. I think the opposite. They need him in at least the last 6-10mins of the 4th quarter to close games. He’s a Superstar that can take over a game. They need to develop him to where he plays more within the offense instead of being a ball stopper. The grizzles move the ball around so well when he’s not on the court so imagine adding Ja to that ball movement. That’d be lethal
I've been saying this!! The man is DRose 2.0, super athletic, inconsistent shooting but lethal when hot. He sacrifices his body on almost all plays, he also doesn't have a good defence IQ and perimeter D. Definitely need to polish it some more
Man needs to put on some weight he is too skinny to be a defender in the nba
Yep I’ve been screaming this from the mountain tops too, but ppl give me a blank stare a lot of the time
@@NateWongSongs 💀
I agree with you about developing his game like CP3 and hope he has that goal on his mind. I do wonder if he held on the rim everytime he dunked, that would be easier for his knees. Because the force going down would be from a lower point, not at the highest point of every time he jumps
He should also learn the yearly choking and brain-farts of CP3.
@@VVVY777 who are you?
@@ohnah6261 he a luka fanboy
Hanging on the rim might help his knees, but not for the reason you give. His center of gravity is about the same whether he continues his trajectory after a slam or hangs on the rim, so the landing force put through the leg is the same. Hanging on the rim simply gives him time to compose his body parts before he falls to the floor.
An even simpler solution would be to give up the pyrotechnic, strutting Look-At-Me dunks and lay the ball in in a more controlled manner. More mature and sophisticated players, like all of the Warriors' guards, do that most of the time. The shot is slightly less likely to misfire, there's less chance of trauma to the hand and wrist, and less violence to the knees on landing. And it's still worth 2 points. Less ghetto cred, not as flashy for the ladies, but we can all live with that. And if you can't, if you still need to do a Bird of Paradise mating dance with each dunk, you could always glue a few peacock feathers to your ass.
@@OslerWannabe grabbing from the rim also nullifies the horizontal component of the landing force, thus making ir easier.
It all boils down to coaching. The coach needs to teach Ja to play into the same system they play when he’s out: spreading the ball around and relying less on his one-on-one wizardry.
The Grizz will be great for years to come if they do that.
Idk man I’m a raptors fan and the season we won with kawhi I’m pretty sure we were like 18-4 without kawhi and obviously we were so much better with him. When your whole team buys in and you’re a genuine contender you can make the adjustments because you’re deep enough to.
difference is when awtching the games ja morant basically plays iso/hero ball. in todays era thats just not as good, especially when literally all his teammates do better when hes off the court. The one thing I will agree on is that he is the closer of the team, and in close games he needs to present.
Kawhi provides defense. Ja provides negative defense.
Yeah it's complicated because the team can work better but then those "do or die moments" need a hero/superstar. So rarely does a great team beat a good team with a superstar or two. At the end of the day, there's one ball and only one person gets the point. Would you rather have Luka or 5 high effort good players? It's tough because some teams die chasing a superstar and get lost in ego fighting. But yeah, apart from the Pistons that one time, almost all teams need a couple of superstars.
I thought the the 60 win hawks made everybody just kind of recognize that a good team with good players all around and no superstar just isn't going to cut it in the playoffs.
I Agree!.Thank You. Finally, SOMEONE With A Sensible Comment!.'Preciate Dat Austin.✊🏿💯✊🏿
No one is going to tell their star player that they need to take a step back and let his teammates shine more. If Ja facilitated more and spent a little bit more energy on the defensive end, he would have a more long-lived career and their team would likely be much more competitive.
Yes he should be the man who adjust to the teams gameplan, rather than forcing every possession into his ways
Ja is leading the playoffs in assists per game. How much more can he really facilitate when the team just doesn’t have shooters.
@@RobertJohnson-yl2bk that is still hero ball. He is not as bad as Westbrook but getting there. Everyone has to touch the ball not just when they have to shoot. Need the game plan to work
@@sp_liberated he does give them the ball when it’s not just time to shoot they just aren’t good half court executors. Unless it’s Ja setting them up or Desmond bane doing something nobody is really scoring on their own outside of transition.
@@RobertJohnson-yl2bk Assists per game is a misleading stat. It doesn't necessarily mean you're sharing the ball. If you are ball-dominant, you'll also have a lot of assists because you always have the ball. For example, Harden garners a lot of assists because he always starts with the ball. Then, he either shoots or dumps the ball to a teammate.
Super informative video about Ja's health/defense along with a detailed and practical solution at the end!! Thank you for the video!!
11 injury’s in 3 seasons enough said
He is shooting most of his shots in the paint. The athletic style of play of Ja Morant puts so much pressure on his knees. I feel so bad to say this but injuries on his knees are inevitable because of fatigue
A similar vibe happened happened with the 2019 Raps. Kawhi missed a lot of games to load management but the Raps went 17-5 in those games. But, Kawhi took his game up a level and dominated on both ends once the playoffs started. Considering how deep the Grizzlies are Ja probably doesn't need to have such a high usage, he can utilize his teammates more so he can stay fresh longer.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha Delusional Memphis Fan. Is Elvis still alive?
Ja ain’t kawhi
He started doing that against the Timberwolves. He'd only have 12 points in the first half but he'd have a bunch of assists and rebounds. Then he'd go crazy in the last few minutes.
Some people are just built different. If you're not conditioning yourself in exactly the right way, adding muscle in the wrong areas will increase the strain on your knees.
Ja morant needs to devlop his game like the current d rose. D rose doesnt go for dunks any more but rather he developed his layup, fake, mid range and floater game rather than going super hard at the basket. Morant needs to be come unpredictable inside the paint.
This was excellent work. Thanks for the insights with the facts.
The “precautionary” comparison to D Rose is EXACTLY what I’ve been saying!!!
Great content Casey! ❤️
CP3 also gets injured a lot. I think Ja needs to grow muscle and yes relay more on his teammates to run the offense. Either way, injuries are more about luck and how your body develops.
Russ did have a major injury, but it wasn't due to his play, rather the play of another player. It has impacted his athleticism negatively.
Yeah I remember that when Pat Bev bumps his knee when he's trying to call Timeout which resulted to him having tear meniscus and losing the playoff series
Ja was a playmaker at heart, he went unrated as highschool because he focus on playmake that lead to his early success and after flashy dunks he is now known, hope he can playmake more now since he got the clout he need now
Ja weighs 175 lb. I'm about the same height (1 inch smaller). When I used to play basketball in my 20s I weighed about 87-90 kg (200 lb). And I had mainly muscle and very few fat. That was a dynamic setup to play basketball. I saw higher or same height dudes playin with less weight, they were really thin, but athletic, jumped high. However you could watch them getting hurt much more often and being real bad at physical plays. Ja is a big talent, but needs to get more muscle and change his play. He will not be able to compete with 7 footers and break himself over and over again, end up like D' Rose. Fun fact is, that even Steph Curry weighs 185 lb., although he is 1 inch smaller.
Great vid!!
One thing. Zion miss 100 something games (i know that It's more games, but i can't remember how many games correctly miss), Ja lower than him, but he gains experience in NBA, All-Star apperiance, rookie of the year award etc. When someone says Ja is a glass cause he has weak knee, try to remember how many games Zion miss and how many he plays. The problem with Ja is that he needs mentor who help him with defence to be a lot of better player at this thing. The problem with Ja will be that he don't have a dangerous 3 point shot. He's explosivnes benefits his 3 point shot problems, but you're not going to win NBA championship playing like this (unless you're Magic Johnson)
Did zion not basically play the whole year last year, make the all star team, was in all NBA convos, and played like someone in there prime despite playing 20 games prior. Zion was cleared this season in Feb but the team won't play him, and Zion's injuries aren't bad tbh probably better than embiid's. Even if bro misses games it just shows you how dominant the guy is at that age with less "experience."
@@TomTheNuke people forget he averaged more points,rebounds than ja,tatum and d book,he played very efficient too,he put up the most efficient 27 ppg last year and his foot and knee injuries can be sorted out,like embiids did...look at jojo now
Also worth mentioning Steph Curry had glass ankles for years. Only through deliberate training did he get past that. If Ja can train correctly and develop strength in the correct way, he should be able to focus on a long career. Yeah the compound effect of playing instead of being injured is a huge thing. Zion is a seriously frustrating case and you can absolutely tell his family are really toxic. Because experts are probably telling him one thing and his agent and family are telling him bullshit and being all toxic about the Pelicans. I hope he gets healthy because it is sad that this mutant of insane skill and athleticism is just too much for his own body. And remember Embiid was basically injured for the first couple of years of his career and now he's one of the top 5 players in the entire league. If Zion comes back as good as he was in his rookie season, he'll still be top 3 in his generation. He's a force of nature.
@@jambononi exactly,once he gets his injuries down and his work ethic up,he could be a perennial all nba player
They're soooooo much better defensively without him , and offensively still really good at least the way they're currently constructed. They need him to close but still what a young, talented team
Love the CP3 analogy I definitely think it would benefit his career for the long run
Wow. Awesome analysis.
Agreed he's a serious injury away from the Russ, D Rose career trajectory. Draymond claims he (Ja) has a super high Basketball IQ. I've not seen it yet myself on the court but if he does then he should already recognise the things you've outlined.
You been cooking in yo videos bro yo basketball IQ is through the roof 🫡💯
HE IS EXCITING FOR A SHORT PERIOD. HE WON'T LAST IN THE NBA FOR A LONG TIME IF HE WILL NOT CHANGE HIS STYLE..BASKETBALL IS A COMBINATION OF SKILL AND BRAINS
Jackson Jr. should be given more time and attention! He is really good!
yea in game 5 he was hitting some deep 3´s aswell.. but game 6.. he had 4 rebounds cmon hes 6.11 how are you getting outrebounded by the whole enemy team
Him and robert williams are definitely up next as the great defenders. But Timelord needs to develop a nice midrange jumper like jaret jackson jr.
he's also injury prone
very cool comentary. It appears to be spot-on. nice work
DAMN...good analysis bruh. Makes sense too me.
"Jetpack" Ja is very quick, very sudden, and he's definitely one of the faster players end-to-end, but his "Z-axis" Athleticism is absolutely off the charts. His bounce off the floor is so quick and he just floats through the air with some "Air Ja" hang time, but I'd like to see him make more of an impact defensively, and to play more minutes for his club.
Can you do your 76ers off-season plan soon. Would love to see how you think the process turns out. Would also love to see what you think about Jojo potentially wanting out. Keep on doing what you’re doing.
I like that he relys on his athleticism. I feel that people are hating on him. What he could figure is why his team plays better without him and work on being a better teammate... And land properly
The problem IS him relying on it without even having proper biomechanics. Man should learn from Westbrook, CP3, And Steph. Westbrook for body control in the air, CP3 for learning mid range shots, Steph for protecting your legs.
I know I am writing this with quite a delay, but this is great analysis.
AM Hoops: "...but russ has never had a major injury."
Pat bev: i have failed
Hey Casey, I'm still waiting for the video you said were due for all teams eliminated, especially the raptors.
Ja Morant must imitate MJ & Kobe of hiring a professional personal trainer 🤔
I think Jah is fine the way he plays, he just needs to get in the weight room, get bigger and stronger and most importantly work on his defense, if Curry can become a better defender then there’s no excuse why Jah can’t.
No one is saying he can't improve. It's all valid criticism that he has right now but can address
@@arcnet7941 🤦♂️
@@arcnet7941 no one is said that
I think someone overlooked is Steven Adams, his style of play just doesn't lead to a lot of impressive stat sheets but other NBA players often refer to him as the strongest player and he's also a phenomenal screen setter. The dude is so tough other players just kick him in the nuts cuz he aint going anywhere otherwise. And the dude still gets up and plays hard.
He leads the league in offensive rebound percentage, which means that if you have Adams on the court, when you miss a shot, you're getting a second chance. And he's a genuine selfless team player who has no issue throwing his body in front of another 7 footer to get his teammates an open look. That's not the kinda thing that shows up on stats but it does win games.
real talk is real!...damn facts! 😅
Can you do a 76ers off-season video
I think it’s simply like the Pat bev situation. Where Bev started working out more when he couldn’t defend Damian
ja is 22 and clearly willing to improve especially after a playoff run like this.. i feel like in the future he will complete his game and be in conversation for the best player in the league. The only thing that could ruin that is a big injury so hes gotta learn how to land properly. russ doesent get injured because hes heavier he doesent get injured because he knows how to land and how hard his body can go
You're right about the wear and tear....
4:23 that is a reasonable point. Teams play better and more people are involve when their star player is not playing, more team basketball..
That was really interesting on Ja's defence. Who'd a thunk it? But it makes perfect sense. Brilliant. Not so sure about Ja's weight being the problem with his health though. I would have thought that his lightness would protect his knees just as Zion's weight is damaging his knees. He is built differently from Lebron and Westbrook, that's for sure.
The thing is though, Zion being overweight seems to come from fat, whereas Ja being underweight is likely a lack of muscle, so they both basically come down to not having the muscle needed to support their careers, Ja not having the muscle needed to support his style of play, and Zion not having the muscle to support not only his style of play but also his fat.
If they can keep these memphis young core to their prime and healthy, they will be hard to stop.
Them and boston are the teams up next for years to come imo
I am Team Ja but I agree with what Casey says. Ja doesn’t need to play Zion-like and rely on physicality and athleticism. He may unconsciously playing like Zion co’z people are comparing him with Zion.
Ja vs Zion will be interesting this upcoming season
Jaren Jackson Jr is really inconsistent offensively and gets less than 6rpg. The defense is killer but they need him to make a leap next year.
Agreed with those who note landing mechanics. Russ turn achilles in 2013 was from contact with patrick beverley, while d rose injuries were not.
The problem with Ja is he twerks too hard on his dad. Either stop breaking the code, or just do slower grinding instead.
Westbrook had a torn meniscus not Achilles thankfully
@@chillguli1963 but it was contact related right
@@yoavbeneliyahu6686 yea pat bev was trying to get ready for wrestlemania with a spear
He needs to work out with drose cause he’s developed his game to where he doesn’t get injured now and still puts up efficient numbers ja can still use his athleticism to his advantage more
He just needs to use his vision more & be more aggressive on defense!! Ja need to understand he has great shooters around him, he doesn't need to play like Westbrook.... Longevity is key, adapt now or face more future leg injuries
I'm a huge fan of ja, but I've said since his first season that his play style wouldn't allow him to have a long career. Except for westbrook... I dont get how he plays with such explosiveness and didn't sustain any horrible injuries
Westbrook literally had a guy cave his face in on the court, and kept playing. Morant got a wobbly knee and cried like a girl.
@@jwilcollective816 just a thought, but an injury to the face doesn't affect your ability to play basketball as much as an injury to a limb.
that bench comment on zion was coooooooold blooded
He travels and carry’s on almost every possession but never gets called for it. If he did he wouldn’t be as effective, like a worse rebounding/better shooting Russell Westbrook
Travels? I get the carrying but he hardly travels.
We not watching the same people
hot take. shai and giddey have a higher ceiling then Ingram and zion when health is taken into consideration. I don't think people realize how real giddeys game is yet.
Giddy is nice but Ingram and Zion can eventually grow into superstars and are already similar to all star level, I didn’t mention shai because I think this comment was more about those 3 but he’s nice too just below Brandon and Zion.
@@temp2k773 we will see. Ingram is older and zion is injury prone. I think right now shai is better then ingram.
the kings gotta be so insecure about their next year's coach choice now, feel bad for sabonis
Well explained.
Yes! Thanks so much for pointing out the Coach for his ridiculous accusation of Poole.
A.I. was a small guy that played a demanding style, and his peak was about the same as Westbrook.
His peak was good but I’m taking Russ peak over him by a bit
Poole, Kuminga and Wiseman is something that I want to see
Dont forget Moody
the future of GSW... Brooks better prepared for these young guns when he said the warriors are getting older.
Even as an average Joe that likes to hoop, I’ve had to retrain myself to play slower. I’ve always been one of the quicker guys on my sports teams growing up. (A lot of my friends used to say I reminded them of lesean mccoy). I can’t tell you how many times I tweaked a knee or ankle, or my back, just from going way too fast and trying to be explosive. Ever since I’ve realized I can get my shot off and still have an effective handle without having to rely on being the quickest guy on the court, I’ve been able to sustain playing for longer periods of time…my jumper is even more consistent because I’m not so tired.
It’s really hard to slow down when your speed and explosiveness is your strength. But it’s important to slow down for longevity.
5:55 Isaiah Joe of the 76ers is listed as 165lbs on bball reference and ESPN.
You can't build the championship team on small, explosive guy playing hero ball. The opponents are going to exploit his playstyle on both sides of the floor. Even such powerful, robust guy like Giannis was extremely lucky winning the chip with hero ball when Middleton & Jrue were struggling on the offensive side. Ja, Spida and similar players need system that supports them. Like the environment created around Steph Curry: team defense, off-ball movement.
Build muscle and get a better 3pt shot. It’s like lebron. For long he relied on freak athleticism, but then had to develop his game game and work on his skill
thats the same thing that happened when i got chipped in football it hurt and it felt like i couldnt walk but was fine after 5 mins
When is Portland off-season plans vid
I also thought Ja Morant plays like D.Rose. It's just a timebomb before his knees give away.
It was mind boggling during 5th game with the Warriors, Steph Klay Dray was on the floor almost 50 points separation.
Do raptors offseason plans
That bone was already bruised before Poole touched him.
I think that they should be a wing player... His craftiness would function well with more space, and it would also reduce his probability of further injury.
You forgot Ant and someone the Twolves don't have yet. They'll be up there w Grizz and Pelicans
Philly off-season video please
I like Ja but hes legit Kmart version of old westbrook. If westbrook was determined to be flashy and couldnt control his vertical. Also I think Ja needs to fall back on his EXTREMELY capable team more often cuz it seems like he doesnt share the ball enough cuz he knows hes the best scorer. But sometimes he gets locked up and doesnt pass. I think Zion is fundamentally a better player, and if he ever gets rid of his injury issue, he’ll prove it.
This dude on here with a hard on for the warriors
I think he should bulk up, not only would it help his health but he would throw down mor powerful dunks too.
Man I hope he adress his playmaking and defensive issues. Because he is so good. Even the whole warriors squad secretly adores his play.
hes not a bad playmaker
For Sure and this is arguably so so true, Ja Morant needs to learn from Russell Westbrook on how to land properly in this league, and this is really the one thing i can give Westbrook credit for for this, and he's really all in control of his own body, Morant is just damn so so reckless on his offense with those crazy offensive drives honestly.
True but Ja has floaters in his bag the only thing he needs to do is tweaking his playing style. He needs to play more smooth style also probably add more off ball offense too.
I agree, Ja needs to talk to Andre Miller or some other vet. Griz is a young team and Ja can for sure be the same level or more as MVP D. Rose
Good take.
Nice.
You are right about Ja's direction of development. In fact, if he can develop his game like CP3, it actually would make his attack on the rim even more deadly since it's even harder to predict what he will do. Not to mention it will prolong his career.
But then, Ja is still > Zion, because someone is playing is > someone not playing.
The biggest issue with the grizzlies is not even experience its maturity like Ja tweeting while in a playoff series like the timberwolve series he was tweeting nonstop thats stuff your not supposed to do like ever especially during a playoff series thats Ja's biggest issue tbh
I would rather him being at home tweeting that being at a club
Ja has the most smug annoying look on his face and definitely looks like the guy who would mock you for wearing last years Nikes or something... but damn is he good at basketball. And it's easy to forget how young he is. It's insane. He has so much room to grow. And tbf it would be hard not to be smug when you're that good at that age. Like people were saying about Luka, it's only a matter of time until he gets an MVP or a chip or both. Patience is what the Grizzlies need. Give it a few more years, grow better defensively with Ja and eventually win. I think Mavs have made a few mistakes trying to make Luka win immediately. They don't need to, just develop gradually like the Warriors did.
Ja most def gives us electric,high-flying, mind blowing dunks & layups from awkward angles. Gives me D.Rose 2.0 vibes 🌹deferred the ball better, also, jumps passing lanes better !
Well said, Ja is a tricksters fun to watch but he needs to slow it down a bit if he wants to play many years
D-Rose body couldn’t handle the tourque, Russel Westbrook is listed at 6’3 he’s really 6’5/6’6 not a small guard at all, Ja just isnt like those two he’s he’s own man
Its not just a duo its a trio with Ja Jaren and Bane
Ja has to develop a perimeter game and be more of a distributor if he wants to last as a elite talent more than 8 years. He can play long regardless but he'll slow down if he gets hurt up
well done
Accurate
Wait, you don't use the "hmm" Transition anymore?
He could come off the bench to slowly rotate back in
do the raptors offseason
I need that nuggets video casey plz