The Memphis Grizzlies rookie and No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant exceeded all expectations going into his first season. What can he improve next season?
The Memphis Grizzlies struck gold in the 2019 NBA Draft by selecting Ja Morant with the second overall pick. The No. 2 pick has been historically shaky – just ask the Grizzlies, they especially know this as 10 years prior they selected Hasheem Thabeet at the same No. 2 pick.
Morant has been the right side of history for the Memphis Grizzlies so far, winning Rookie of the Year with receiving 99 first-place votes, despite the scandal of not being unanimous — Morant averaged a pretty convincing 17.8 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Morant did this all while still being a winning player, taking his team to the eighth seed in the pre-bubble Western Conference standings. During the bubble — Morant still led his team without running mate Jaren Jackson Jr. for a majority of those bubble games to the NBA play-in tournament and losing to a red hot Damian Lillard.
Despite the exceptional season, there were flaws in Morant’s game. One particular issue was his shooting from behind the arc.
This will break down four goals Morant should have going into the NBA 2020-2021 season, which looms with a quick turnaround and start date of December 22nd — only giving Morant 128 days between his last game and the NBA start date.
With all that being said, let’s see what four things Ja Morant needs to work on before and during the 2020-2021 NBA season.