One of the events of the night in the NBA is obviously the return to competition of Ja Morant after almost three weeks of absence. Exceptionally used off the bench, which we will have to get used to for a few more games, the All-Star point guard compiled 17 points and 5 assists in 24 minutes, in his team’s victory over the Rockets (130-125).
Thanks to an excellent Jaren Jackson Jr. (37 points, 10 rebounds), these are indeed the Grizzlies who got the better of the teammates of Jalen Green (32 points), Kenyon Martin Jr. (31 points, 6 rebounds) and Alperen Sengun (25 points, 8 rebounds), at the end of a match rich in points and tight until the end.
A result synonymous with the fourth victory in a row for Memphisstill 2nd in the West, while Houston loses for the third consecutive time and remains dead last in this same conference.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Ja Morant is back. We had not seen him on an NBA floor since March 3 in Denver. Almost three weeks later, the Grizzlies point guard played again and, beyond being limited to twenty minutes, he came off the bench for the first time in his career, so as not to disturb the collective balance found by Memphis in his absence. Unsurprisingly, Morant was in any case overflowing with energy and he often wanted to do well (sometimes too much) for his team. Overall, we can therefore say that the return of the All-Star, already the author of several spectacular actions and particularly encouraged by his audience, is a success.
— A match tighter than imagined. We could initially expect to see the Grizzlies, in search of victory to stay 2nd in the West, wander against the Rockets already turned to the next Draft. Except that the Texas franchise had not come to Tennessee to serve as a punching bag in Memphis. Thus, as each team failed to make stops and show regular defensively, the meeting was disputed from start to finish. It was finally necessary to wait for the players of Taylor Jenkins to speak about their experience, in the wake of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, to have a winner.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jaren Jackson Jr.. In line with his last four games (28 points on average, 60% in shooting and 38% in 3-points), the All-Star interior has done a real job in the weak defense of the Rockets, to sign the one of his best performances of the season. Extremely aggressive (8/11 in throws) and skillful (14/20 in shooting), he seems to have understood that the Grizzlies need him to evolve fully, almost constantly, while waiting for the 100% return of Ja Morant. In the shoes of the leader, “JJJ” therefore fully seduces and his regularity of the moment displayed on the offensive level can only bode well for Memphis.
✅ Houston starters. Between the great scoring performances of Jalen Green, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Alperen Sengun, or the triple-double of Kevin Porter Jr. as well as the solid performance of Jabari Smith Jr, it is an understatement to say that Stephen Silas was able to pressing a starting five that is both productive and effective. It is also the holders of the Rockets, burning to shoot, which allowed them to regain hope in the second period, when the gap amounted to ten units. Too bad the Texan rotations were not as inspired off the bench (7 points in total).
⛔ Defenses. You could imagine it, but you didn’t have to like half-court basketball and high-flying defensive performances to take pleasure in this meeting. You only have to take a look at the statistics to realize that we mainly had to deal with a match focused on attack and rarely provided with quality defensive sequences. The perfect opportunity to heal your stats and regain confidence, so…
THE FOLLOWING
New duel between Memphis (45-27) And Houston (18-55) in the night from Friday to Saturday (01:00).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S4A4kiCc54
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