Ja Morant is daring to establish his name amongst top players in unchartered area for small guards: "Motherf**kers can’t stay in front of me”
Ja Morant's high-flying style of play has propelled him to the status of an elite point guard, unarguably top 10 in the league, possibly top five.
As an undersized, 6-foot-2 point guard, Morant's capabilities to score in the paint are astounding.
Despite having developed a respectable outside shot, Morant prefers to drive through the lanes, and his passing abilities combined with fellow Grizzlies player Desmond Bane's immaculate spot-up shooting makes him one of the most potent offensive threats in the league.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN wrote about Ja's rise as an elite paint scorer, and when asked about why Morant ranks high among the elite paint scorers, Morant stated:
"Because motherf---ers can't stay in front of me." (via) ESPN
However provocative, the sentiment is fitting.
NBA's tracking data suggests Morant is averaging 22 drives per game, with a 44.9% FG%. This is the second-highest frequency of drives per game in the league, with only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of him.
However, an even more impressive stat is how his scoring fares within five feet of the rim, an area that has historically been reserved for big men. Within five feet, Morant has the fourth-highest shot attempt rate, with 8.9 per game. He is scoring a staggering 60.5% in this range.
The only people above Morant are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson, three of the most physically gifted power forwards in the league.
Desmond Bane commends Ja Morant's abilities
In the same piece by MacMahon, Bane commended Ja Morant's abilities:
"People look at that athletic stuff, but that happens once a game or once every two games, but he finishes with 26 points and 20 of them are in the paint, so it's like, how the hell did he get the other 18?
"Getting to 2 feet, elevating and just a touch shot right over the front of the rim. That's his bread and butter. He's jumping higher than you, and he's got the touch. That's tough. That's tough."
The offensive output of the Grizzlies is the 11th best in the league (fifth best last season), primarily on the back of Ja Morant's inside scoring and Desmond Bane's outside shooting.
Bane is shooting an incredible 45.1% from 3-point range, on 8.5 attempts per game. These numbers have seen him rank amongst the best shooters in the league.
With Jaren Jackson Jr. back in the starting lineup, the Grizzlies have another high-efficiency, 15-plus points per game scorer. However, it is the Grizzlies' defense that have kept them afloat in a tightly contested Western Conference, with the fifth best defense in the league.