Game Preview: Pacers vs Grizzlies (12/21/2023)

When: Thursday, December 21st, 7:00 PM CST

Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

How to Watch/Stream: Bally Sports Southeast

It happened. It finally happened. Temetrius Jamel Morant played a basketball game for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2023-24 NBA season. And it was everything that Grizzlies fans hoped it would be.

Honestly, the entire thing felt like you were reading from a script. The protagonist, finally returning from his time in isolation, returns to save his people from the perils of an old foe, and while Ja didn’t save the lives of anyone on the court on Tuesday, he might have just gifted the Grizzlies the lifeline they needed to save their season.

Coming into Tuesday night, the Grizzlies were losers of five in a row. Even the most prominent members of “Grizzlies Twitter” were beginning to lose hope that this season could be salvaged. And although they were justified in those beliefs, it is already hilarious to see how the energy has shifted.

If you need proof of the claim above, just read the replies to this post. The narrative switched from “Ja Wick” and other uncreative nonsense to “This team is scary” really, really fast. Adam Silver’s swollen ego allowed people to sleep for all 235 days since Ja last played, but the disrespect won’t continue.

As for the Pacers, things have certainly declined since their run to the In-Season Tournament championship. Indiana is a loser in five of its last six games, only managing to beat the Pistons. And all of those losses were by at least double-digits. Despite hiring Rick Carlisle, someone seen as a pragmatic, old-school coach, the Pacers lead the league in pace and are second in offensive rating, scoring 122.1 points per 100 possessions.

Their offensive, run-and-gun style of play makes for fantastic viewing from a neutral point of view, but it also accentuates many of the team’s strengths. They have a roster full of shooters, high-flying athletes, and lob threats, all of whom are catered for by Tyrese Haliburton (more on him later).

Despite the carnival of media nonsense that Grizzlies fans have endured, it’s finally time to enjoy a Ja Morant-led team playing basketball, so let’s dig in!

Ja Kept Receipts

During Ja’s absence from the national spotlight, there were several players whose stock had grown, leading many to claim that “Player X is better than Ja.” Save for that guy from the Knicks, there was no one who received this media treatment more than Tyrese Haliburton.

Before neutral parties and Grizzlies fans alike attack me for Haliburton hate, you won’t find any of that here. Haliburton plays the game the right way, makes his teammates better, and seems genuine. However, he certainly was one of the poster boys of the “Let’s Move on from Morant” movement (courtesy of ESPN & others), and let’s not pretend that Ja won’t treat him that way. 

Haliburton’s rise owes a lot of credit to the Pacers’ fantastic play during the In-Season Tournament, resulting in several nationally televised games in which he performed exceptionally. Along with leading the league in assists at 11.9 per game, Haliburton is also averaging just under 25 points and four rebounds on above 50/40/90 splits. Simply put, Haliburton is doing his best mid-2000s Steve Nash impression with less talent around him.

As previously mentioned, the Pacers play at the highest pace in the entire league. On a lot of nights, I’m sure that this is an advantage, but with Ja returning, fast breaks aren’t quite so safe anymore. Between the Pacers’ up-tempo pace, which can result in a lack of defense, this is a game that will see plenty of possessions. And I fully expect at least one Sportscenter Top 10 play out of Ja.

As previously mentioned, this is a guy who is deserving of any praise thrown his way. Unfortunately for him, he has to face off against revenge-tour Ja. Tonight marks the first in what will be a long line of victims of the revenge tour, and while I know Memphis remembers what we have in 12, I’m not quite sure the national basketball audience does.

I’m excited to see him remind them.

The Impending Domino Effect

While it’s obviously nice to have Ja Morant back for the glaringly obvious reason that All-NBA players are good, there’s also the domino effect that his return has on the lineup.

Starting off, logistically, his return bumps everyone down a peg on the Grizzlies’ totem pole. The duo of LaRavia and Ziaire will likely not see the floor together again, pending the health of others, and that is quite simply because everyone is one rotation spot behind where they were previously. People underestimate how quickly these marginal gains add up in a game like basketball, where the difference between a win and a loss is razor-thin.

For example, the overall increase in the team’s likelihood of winning that comes with every minute of basketball not played by Jake LaRavia is massive. Now, by replacing those net-negative minutes with a net-positive player, the effect on the team is compounded. Not only will this give the coaching staff more lineup flexibility, but this trend will only grow as Kennard, Smart, and others continue to return (click here to see Brandon Clarke dunk a basketball). 

The second effect that Xavier illustrates in the video above is that Ja Morant makes basketball really easy when you’re on his team. While this sounds straightforward, it really is astonishing to look back through his first game back and count how many plays he swings in the Grizzlies’ favor. Whether it be through his athleticism, otherworldly vision, or sheer willpower, 12 makes things happen.

The attention that he demands from a defense, or his “gravity,” will do wonders for this team alone. Des, who was being treated like Steph Curry by opposing defenses, is now someone who can create HIM open looks. Suddenly, Des goes from having the defense’s best assignment to whoever is next in line. The same is true for the rest of the roster, as well. Ja’s mere presence just makes things easier.

Are We Fine in the West?

Due to the team’s less-than-stellar start to the season, no one is under the impression that the Memphis Grizzlies are gunning for the number one seed in the West. However, with around 70% of the season still left to play, it’s certainly worth taking the temperature of the teams around us.

When writing this, the Grizzlies are 6.5 games out of the play-in tournament and nine games out of a guaranteed playoff spot. Other than passing the Utah Jazz (which already feels like a foregone conclusion), the Grizzlies can seemingly compete with any of the teams above them. If the team can pull itself back in or around those play-in spots, the separation between the rest of the conference is minimal.

That should sound like music to the ears of Grizzlies fans because as fun as it is to have Ja Morant back again, this team still has so much more room to grow. While I hope some of this growth is inorganic, meaning moves from Kleiman and Co., this team has yet to field its best lineup. Grizzlies fans have been starved of a lineup of Ja, Smart, Bane, JJJ, and Biyombo or a bench unit that contains actually competent basketball players. 

For the first time in a long time, luck is on the side of Memphis, and I can’t wait to see how the squad builds on this positive momentum.