Sometimes the easiest way to coax a friend out of their shell is to do something fun wrong. Somehow, their fury is funnelled into a new corrective energy and everyone is back on a positive track. The Memphis Grizzlies were grumbling at recent report cards after wrapping up a 1-2 post-NBA All-Star break road trip. Fortunately, Taylor Jenkins and Company were dancing out of the FedEx Forum with a much needed win over the Phoenix Suns to begin a five-game homestand. More importantly, Jaren Jackson Jr.’s jokes and Desmond Bane’s bellowing might have shaken Ja Morant’s Griddy out of a funk.
If the Grizzlies are going to find a groove before the NBA Playoffs begin, Memphis needs their three-piece band of stars singing the same tune. The Grizzlies do not need Morant to necessarily be orchestrating all the music, but the out-of-rhythm All-Star must be on the same page as Bane and Jackson Jr. Thankfully, the nonchalant duo got the no-nonsense 25-year-old to lighten up a bit in a 151-148 win over Kevin Durant’s Suns.
Morant’s Call 12 celebration was paired with a get-right Griddy skip as Phoenix looked on helplessly. Bane just offered up a sly grin in the postgame locker room.
“About time, man,” Bane laughed. “I thought he forgot how to dance…I was just telling him to stay aggressive. Keep shooting and keep attacking and he did.”
The entire NBA knows it is hard to stop Morant once he gets going. Bane knew to keep pouring fuel on the fire and agitating the starter a bit. Eventually, the engine would fire up full steam ahead.
“I knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time. He is too good of a player to struggle for the whole game,” Bane said. “He stayed with it and there is nobody else I’d rather have trying to make plays to the stretch.”
As for that Griddy and getting Ja Morant to smile? Blame Desmond Bane and a recent trip to Disney World.
“Nah that was just Des,” Morant joked. “We had pretty much back-to-back situations like this, I think the other one was versus the (Orlando Magic) where he was continuing to yell at me. Telling me that the team goes off me and just go be me. In both the Magic game and tonight, I was able to hit some big time shots for us to stay in it.”
“So that’s where that Griddy came from,” added Morant. “I don’t know what Des was doing at first. I thought that was what he was trying to do so I just did it too.”
Desmond Bane might not be the better dancer, but the Grizzlies do not do hierarchies. Ja Morant’s moves were good enough despite an 0-8 start from the field against the Suns. Bane’s nine assists to one turnover was great; Ja Jackson Jr. (28 points) was dominant as well. Memphis needs more of that kind of music more often.
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