Ja Morant is arguably the more athletic point guard than Dejounte Murray, reminiscent of Murray years ago before the dynasty organization left behind by Tony Parker began to give "DJ" the reins of the future. Memphis would never let Morant go and he can expect a giant payday when his rookie contract ends.
In Game 1, the Spurs scorched Memphis in the opening quarter, 42-21, winning the game 109-128 and leading by as much as 32. Dejounte Murray had 20 points, 7 assists & 7 steals. Trey Burke splashed in 20 points, going 4-5 from deep range. Buddy Hield dropped 18 points, with VanVleet & Ingram combining for 28. Andre Drummond had 14 rebounds. Brandon Clarke had 9 & 7 against his old team. Ja Morant had 14 points, 10 assists, going 5-13 from the field. Desmond Bane scored 18, with Dillon Brooks' 17 points on 6-15 shooting just nowhere near enough to make a run at the upset. Steven Adams devoured the glass for 18 rebounds in defeat.
The Grizzlies did not expect the tenacious defense by the Spurs, however, as they had a staggering 26 turnovers in Game 2. They led by a single point only once in Game 2, losing badly 106-144. This Spurs team is not of the same perimeter shooting caliber as the team Memphis took to 7 Games, and it is already apparent two games into this series for the western conference crown. Memphis is scoring just fine by themselves, but they've got to figure out a way to stop or slow down the Spurs, who had 43 fast break points in Game 2. Morant had an awful 9 turnovers, finishing with 18 points.
Morant did not receive much help from his teammates, with Dillon Brooks having 6 turnovers, three of them coming in the 1st Quarter and on the first possession (since Memphis won both jump balls). Steven Adams continues to be a presence down low, scoring 10 points with 11 rebounds in Game 2. But Jarren Jackson, Jr has done very little to resemble the awesome play that saw this team hand San Antonio one of its only 3 defeats this season. In that game, Jackson, Jr, had 33 points & 11 rebounds with 4 blocks. Jackson had just 8 points in Game 2 and that will not do the job. Jackson had 20 in Game 1.
The Spurs were led by Fred VanVleet, whose 31 points on nine 3PT bombs helped establish dominance early. Buddy Hield contributed 21, with Dejounte Murray nearing a triple-double of 20 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists & 5 steals. Brandon Ingram had 19 points, with 16 coming from Trey Burke and 26 from Otto Porter, Jr. & Kevin Love. Andre Drummond had 11 rebounds with 3 blocks.
As the series shift to Memphis, the Grizzlies are hoping to play better and resemble that team (which is mostly intact, roster-wise) that took the champions to the brink last season and won that regular season game despite 41 points by Dejounte Murray.
