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Blake Griffin rips Ja Morant's effort vs Lakers, Morant snaps after the game: "Probably don't play me"
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- Blake Griffin rips Ja Morant's effort vs Lakers, Morant snaps after the game: "Probably don't play me"
The headlines read Ja Morant versus Luka Doncic on Friday night in Memphis. However, while Doncic went off in his first game back from injury, scoring 44 points on 14-27 shooting, including 6-15 from three-point range, Morant fizzled and was essentially a non-factor in the game.
Morant's performance drew criticism from former No.1 pick Blake Griffin , who is one of the analysts on Prime Video's NBA Studio Show. According to Griffin, that was not the kind of effort that fans paid to watch an ultra-talented player like Morant give, especially with the star on the other team putting on a show.
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"I didn't love what I saw from Ja Morant tonight. This is a guy who is insanely talented," said Griffin.
Ja didn't seem engaged during the game
Griffin went on to highlight a sequence during the game where Morant looked like he didn't want to be out there.
First was a play where Ja was setting up the Memphis play and used a screen from Jaylen Wells, which forced Austin Reaves to switch on Morant. Instead of trying to blow by the slower Reaves and attack the basket, Ja dribbled a couple of times and kicked out to Wells, who was outside the 3-point line.
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The play did not develop and ended up becoming a turnover as Santi Aldama's pass to a cutting Ja was intercepted. On the very next play on defense, Morant was just standing up in the corner while guarding Marcus Smart and looking seemingly unengaged in the play. Blake said that kind of effort is unacceptable from a talent like Ja.
"For a guy who's making $40 million and needs to be the leader on this team, like I just don't love it. I don't know if he was not feeling well, if he's hurt, but that to me is a very bad sign. And it's something that needs to…it has to change. The Memphis Grizzlies will only go as far as Ja Morant takes them. And when he's engaged, we've seen it. He's unbelievable. He's an all-world talent. But that type of effort right there, that's the thing that we will call out," added Griffin.
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An alarming performance from Ja
Morant's final stat line in Friday's loss to the Lakers was 8 points on 3-14 shooting, including 0-6 from the 3-point region, with one rebound, 7 assists, and one steal in 31 minutes of action. Ja was also -4 in plus/minus during the game. But perhaps more than his paltry numbers, he didn't look too interested in the game.
" An alarming game from Ja. Took 2 quick shots beginning of the 4th.
Came back in at 5:33 with no interest in playing. Never took a shot, just watched," tweeted podcaster Ryen Russillo .
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When asked by reporters in the locker room what went wrong for the Grizzlies, he said, " Go ask the coaching staff. " When asked what they could have done, aside from asking the coaching staff, Ja replied: " According to them, probably don't play me. "
Interesting comments from Ja after the game confirm the suspicions of Griffin and Russillo that Ja was not engaged and disinterested in the game. Apparently, there's trouble brewing in paradise. It will be interesting to watch it unfold in the coming days. But as Blake said, it's not a good look for the Grizzlies and their superstar player.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
