Despite some silly distractions, Grizzlies fans should still believe in Ja Morant

The Memphis Grizzlies have been in the NBA spotlight the last two weeks for all the wrong reasons. First Zach Kleiman jettisoned Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the season amid a playoff push. 

Then, Ja Morant became the target of the NBA as it continues to single him out for everything except basketball reasons. Morant’s history of brandishing guns on social media has been the crux of his downfall the last few seasons — and Mornat has had some real off-court issues in the past.

In response, Adam Silver and the NBA have put a microscope on Morant and his antics. That means when he does a ridiculous (and common) finger-gun motion after splashing a 3-pointer, he warranted Silver to issue a warning before fining him for making the gesture again. 

Morant then decided to play along and show everybody just how much of a target the NBA is making him by teetering the line with his latest celebrations. But what’s gotten lost in all of this is Morant is actually playing elite basketball right now.

The Grizzlies could have had him step up at a better time and it needs to be the focus of the conversation with a few games left in the season — not Morant’s celebrations vs. the NBA.

Ja Morant is back to playing elite basketball as the season winds down

The Memphis Grizzlies have been searching for the player who would be the villain of the team since Dillon Brooks departed. Brooks held that title well and made himself the main character in every game, no matter how big or small. 

Morant, even with some serious past issues, can embrace the on-court villain role — maybe he already has, and it's the reason why he’s turned things around over the last month of the season. 

Since March 1, Morant is averaging 30.5 points per game and seven assists. His points per game total is the third highest during that stretch. He also has a game-winner sprinkled in there against the Miami Heat. 

Part of his struggles probably stemmed from the fact that he was targeted by the NBA, fans and critics as the Grizzlies struggled to beat the top teams in the league. The Grizzlies have been heavily criticized for playing lackluster against the good teams and stomping on the bad ones. 

Morant has turned over a new leaf and looks like the elite player he was a few years back, and why the franchise has been adamant about building around him and the core of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. 

This is the type of play fans wanted to see from Morant all along. He appears to have embraced being one of the most criticized and targeted players around the league. Morant doesn't seem worried about responses to his celebrations.

His mind is on playing basketball, winning and ignoring the outside noise. Surely Adam Silver isn’t keen on Morant’s latest gestures, but the focus was always supposed to be on basketball, right? Morant is focusing on basketball, but others are focusing on his celebrations.