Ja Morant played against Memphis for the first time since being traded.. and the Grizzlies ended up making the night about their 19-year-old rookie instead.
Cameron Boozer put up 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 124-103 win over Portland, giving him his first NBA triple-double. Memphis is now 5-0, which is impressive enough, but there’s another number from this game that I really like.
EIGHT Grizzlies scored in double figures, and not a single player scored 20 points! They put up 124 without needing anybody to have some ridiculous scoring night. Boozer was out there distributing the ball like he’s been doing this for years, and the entire roster was contributing.
Think about how much conversation there was this offseason about Memphis moving on from Ja. He was the face of that franchise for seven years, and there were legitimate questions about what the team would look like without him.
Well, five games into the season, they’re undefeated, and their No. 3 overall pick already has a triple-double.
I’m not going to start claiming the Grizzlies are better without Morant after FIVE games. That’s ridiculous. But I do think it’s pretty damn interesting how quickly Memphis seems to be finding its identity without him.
If you’re a Grizzlies fan who was preparing for a painful rebuild, this has to be a hell of a lot more fun than you expected.
