The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Ja Morant went off for 25 points in Monday’s big win over the Chicago Bulls and, in what has become a season-long trend, did most of his damage in
Memphis Grizzlies
Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James complimented Ja Morant’s incredible chasedown block that aided their win. In their marvelous 127-119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Memphis Grizzlies brought the heat to L.A., pushing the Lakers to perfectly execute on every shot. And even on perfectly-executed shots, the
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers played on Sunday night, though I was not among those who tuned in. I was watching a movie instead. It was not
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. If you were to delineate contenders by statistical resumes alone, ignoring the noise of injuries and COVID-related absences, you’d really find just three teams this season, all in the
More than one basketball lifetime separates the birth of LeBron James and Ja Morant. In sharing this time and space, they give us the best of both worlds. Ja Morant is a lot of fun right now. Ja Morant is likely to be fun for a while. There is a Paul Rudd uncorking a bottle
It’s uncommon for an NBA team to play its best basketball after losing its best player, yet the Memphis Grizzlies have taken off since Ja Morant’s injury. Plus: A look at the Timberwolves’ surprisingly stingy defense. It’s uncommon for an NBA team to play its best basketball immediately after losing its best player and offensive
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. If you are the kind of perverse sports fan who enjoys extreme blowouts, Thursday night must have been an absolute delight. The Grizzlies beat the Thunder 152-79 (a 73-point
Dec 2, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ty Jerome (16) goes to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports MLB trade grades: Who won Hunter Renfroe-Jackie Bradley Jr. swap? by Scott Rogust The Oklahoma City Thunder were humbled
Former Celtics and Grizzlies guard Tony Allen. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Watch: Tommy Rees’ speech to Notre Dame players about staying was utterly awesome by Alicia de Artola Former Celtics and Grizzlies guard Tony Allen was arrested and charged with domestic assault after an altercation with his wife near Memphis. Tony Allen’s retirement really isn’t going
Nov 1, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Jeff Green (32) drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzles guard Desmond Bane (22) defends during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports NBA reportedly looking to start it’s own version of ManningCast by Scott Rogust Jeff Green of the Denver Nuggets
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The first few weeks of the NBA season are always dotted with breakout performers, players showing significant skill growth, or just taking advantage of new roles or opportunities. Over
Going into his third season, the Ja Morant appears poised to make The Leap. Can he be the player the Grizzlies have never had? On May 14, 2019, I spent the majority of my day thinking about a 6.6 percent chance. The NBA Draft Lottery was that night, and those were the odds that the
With Kawhi Leonard out for most, if not all, of the season, can Paul George step into a primary role and keep the Clippers in the playoffs? The Clippers are in a certain kind of NBA limbo, though not one of their own making. Kawhi Leonard’s torn ACL may have dashed the franchise’s championship hopes
Memphis has always been a city of music. Here are three songs that sum up the city’s newest young star, Ja Morant. Great NBA players have a tell, some signature tic or stylistic element that makes them who they are. Observant viewers could see a silhouette of Kevin Durant’s jumper or of Chris Paul bringing
Heading into a contract year, can Jaren Jackson Jr. re-establish himself as a core piece of the Memphis Grizzlies alongside Ja Morant? One year ago, Jaren Jackson Jr. appeared to be headed toward a max contract extension. He was fresh off a sophomore season in which he averaged 17.4 points while shooting 39.4 percent from
Despite not being as deep from top to bottom as the Eastern Conference, the West is still loaded with championship contenders. The Los Angeles Lakers have reloaded with Russell Westbrook at point guard. The Utah Jazz earned the best record in the league last year and return with the same roster. The Golden State Warriors
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. On Wednesday, it was announced that the Memphis Grizzlies have planned jersey retirement ceremonies this season for both Tony Allen and Zach Randolph. These two jersey retirements, and the
(Image courtesy of ATP) The world’s best basketball league gets back underway on Tuesday, October 19 – there are some gems of games in store for fans during week-1, and the Basketball Insiders team has been quick to action too, scouring sportsbooks to present our early bird NBA betting picks! Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks get
Rajon Rondo, LA Clippers. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports) Florida vs. Florida Atlantic prediction, odds, spread, line, over/under & betting info for NCAA Week 1 by Alicia de Artola The Memphis Grizzlies are about to pay a fourth player to go play for the Los Angeles Lakers. For many former star players to
The Los Angeles Lakers are front-runners to sign four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo. Referencing betting odds from Bovada, the Lakers have -130 odds of signing the player, followed by the Memphis Grizzlies (+120) and Golden State Warriors (+500). On November 23, 2020, he signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Then, he was
The Los Angeles Clippers are heading back to 2013, shipping Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies for Eric Bledsoe. Eric Bledsoe is a Clipper. Welcome back to 2013! Los Angeles is trading Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies for their former point guard, according to Adrian Wojnarowski
According to sources, the Memphis Grizzlies are trading Patrick Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez. Gersson Rosas, the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations, is familiar with Beverley’s style of play and work ethic, considering he was the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Houston Rockets, where he previously
This week on The Long Two, the Grizzlies take low-risk fliers on two potential reclamation projects and Joel Embiid continues a superstar trend. While most of the NBA spent the last month working at a frenetic pace, the Memphis Grizzlies operated slowly and under the radar. Over the course of the last four days, Memphis
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez, the New Orleans Pelicans are shipping guard Eric Bledsoe, center Steven Adams, the Nos. 10 and 40 picks of the 2021 NBA Draft, and two future first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for center Jonas Valanciunas and the Nos. 17 and 51 picks of this week’s upcoming
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) Ian Rapoport tells Packers fans to ‘buckle up’ regarding Aaron Rodgers by Braulio Perez Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has officially ruled out star Kawhi Leonard for Game 6 against the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. The Los Angeles Clippers are one win
Basketball Insiders’ “Now What” series examines teams on the precipice of success. Some will succeed in their attempt to join the elite, while others will squander an opportunity or are simply out of time. Today, we’ll dissect the New York Knicks, their 2020-21 season and where they go from here. The New York Knicks had
Ja Morant’s dad had heartfelt words for Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell after the Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated from the playoffs. There are no perfectly happy endings when it comes to people suffering harassment, especially when it’s racially motivated. That trauma will always remain. Still, good can always come out of bad situations. Ja Morant’s
Ja Morant’s mother won’t go to Game 5 between the Grizzlies and Jazz in Utah after facing racial harassment from fans earlier in the series. A contingent of Ja Morant’s family members will attend Wednesday night’s Game 5 in Salt Lake City. Morant’s mother won’t be one of them. Jamie Morant plans to stay home
Former Houston Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell once again went in on the Utah Jazz after three fans had to be ejected for verbally abusing Ja Morant’s family. The relationship between fans and NBA players, especially as it relates to race, has become an unfortunate topic of discussion during the playoffs. On Wednesday, three fans were
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant spoke out about the Utah Jazz fans who were harassing his family in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Ja Morant has had himself a tremendous start to the 2021 NBA Playoffs. In his very first playoff outing, the 21-year-old point guard put up 26 points in a surprising
Entering the season, there were high hopes for the Indiana Pacers following an impressive bubble showing and eruption from T.J. Warren. However, the team finished at a disappointing 34-38 mark, finishing at ninth in the Eastern Conference and getting eliminated in the play-in tournament. A myriad of factors played into Indiana’s rough season, but no
The Utah Jazz have banned three fans indefinitely for reportedly heckling the family of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant. The return of fans for the 2021 NBA Playoffs have been universally lauded, but things turned ugly all across the league on Wednesday night. From a Philadelphia 76ers fan dumping popcorn on Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook
Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports Memorial Day 2021: Is Chipotle open? by Natalie Abele Ja Morant tried to dunk over Rudy Gobert. It did not end well. Ja Morant may be on his Grizzly, but Rudy Gobert is on a collision course with his third Defensive Player of the Year award, and he wasn’t
This week on The Long Two: Early returns on Devin Booker, Trae Young, and Ja Morant in the playoffs. Plus, how Luka Dončić is picking the Clippers apart. NBA players establish reputations over hundreds, if not thousands, of regular-season repetitions, but the playoffs are where those reputations are stress-tested. We may have a good idea
Donovan Mitchell was less-than-thrilled about not playing for the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their Western Conference Playoffs series vs. the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. The Utah Jazz medical staff holding out star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell in Game 1’s playoff game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies was a controversial and ill-advised decision. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon
May 21, 2021; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) hugs Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) after the game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Bellator 259: Leandro Higo edges Darrion Caldwell in rematch by Adam Stocker Bellator 259: Cris Cyborg stops Leslie Smith again in closing
NBA fans saw an up-and-down battle Wednesday night that ultimately ended with the Memphis Grizzlies taking care of business and eliminating the San Antonio Spurs. Wednesday night’s game between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs got off to an ugly start. The Spurs fell behind by 20 points early, but the comeback was on
Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. (Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports) Tyler Seguin still has a challenging road ahead by Mark Carman Celtics fans aim NSFW chant at Kyrie Irving ahead of Nets playoff matchup (Video) by Braulio Perez NBA Twitter went all caps crazy when Dillon Brooks put an exclamation point on the Memphis Grizzlies’ hot start
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images) 4 key offseason moves Golden State Warriors absolutely must make by Mark Powell Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was watching Warriors-Grizzlies like the rest of us, and he was impressed by Ja Morant. Just days after beating
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The NBA’s play-in tournament kicks off Tuesday and every team will need stars and role players to come up big. Here’s the secret weapon each team will count on.
Ja Morant is an incredibly rare young talent, a productive star comfortable working with every element of basketball style. Style and aesthetics are an indelible part of basketball but the conversation around them is pure chaos. For a purely qualitative set of ideas, it’s not surprising that things are moving in every direction at once.
Ja Morant is the Memphis Grizzlies‘ latest superhero but with great power comes great responsibility. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about Ja Morant. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about how with great power there must also come great responsibility. I am watching Into the Spider-Verse and thinking about great
Trae Young called out Grayson Allen on Twitter for allegedly tripping him during Saturday’s Atlanta Hawks-Memphis Grizzlies game. During the NBA preseason, Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young got acquainted with Memphis Grizzlies guard Grayson Allen. And by acquainted, we mean that Young shoved Allen and created a brief scuffle between both teams. The
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies to a surprising playoff berth last season, but the odds are stacked against Memphis replicating that feat. The Grit N’ Grind era is over in Memphis, but Ja Morant gives the Grizzlies more star power than ever before. This season might be too soon for Morant to lead his young
As the Memphis Grizzlies weigh a move over the next couple weeks, Gorgui Dieng has surfaced as a name to watch. Coming out of the All-Star break, the Memphis Grizzlies are a .500 team (16-16) and within range of a playoff spot in the Western Conference (10th place). The question they have to ask themselves