In the most crucial time, Ja Morant was playing chess, not checkers to lead the Memphis Grizzlies on a statement win over the Brooklyn Nets.
With around four minutes left to play, Morant seemingly looked to read Ben Simmons defensive actions. He rolled the ball to cross half court and held it up, looking to bait the point forward for a foul with his taunting demeanor.
His plan and perhaps the best tactic of the game came in fruition, as Simmons took an exit after initiating a contact.
Morant explained his thought process on the given sequence and how he came up with the decision. He took a look back at his rookie year, reminding himself of what Simmons’ did during their first encounter similar to the play he did.
“If y’all want to go dig up a play, I think my rookie year I was in Philly — and the same situation happened like that versus Ben in the first half,” Morant said, via ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “I went to look at Coach to get the play, and [Simmons] ran through the ball, got the steal and went to dunk … I knew it at that moment. Once I seen him and I was rolling the ball and I was at half [court], I looked at Coach and I see him try to like, ‘Oh yeah.’ So I knew I had him. He was going to press up, and I was just going to force the ref to make the call.”
Morant went on to finish the game with an impressive statline of 38 points, eight boards and seven assists to spearhead the Grizzlies to a 134-124 home win.
