Taylor Jenkins cites key area of growth for Ja Morant
Last season, Ja Morant cemented himself as one of the league’s brightest young talents. The Memphis Grizzlies star averaged 27.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 6.7 APG while receiving All-Star and All-NBA nominations.
Following his impressive campaign in 2022, many view Morant as the top talent among players his age. Some might be satisfied with how the former No. 2 pick has developed in his NBA career, but one person within the Grizzlies organization already has their sights set on more.
During a recent media availability, head coach Taylor Jenkins touched on some of his goals for this upcoming season. Among the things mentioned was unlocking the “best version” of his star point guard. Jenkins also cited a key area of development for the 23-year-old.
Taylor Jenkins cites key area of growth for Ja Morant
“Once Ja becomes a really high level shooter, he’s going to be unstoppable,” Jenkins said. “He’s pretty unstoppable now.”
“To get where we ultimately want to go, and that’s winning championships, it starts with our day in and day out process,” Jenkins said. “Our tunes not going to really change in terms of how we operate.”
While Morant had his best three-point shooting season last year, he still only converted 34.4% of his attempts. While it’s not far off, that mark is still below league average. Until he can prove he can consistently knock down threes, defenses will continue to play under him.
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Three-point shooting is just not a focus for Morant but the Grizzlies as a whole. Last season, they were 23rd in the league in attempts per game at 32.7.
In the modern age, having adequate floor spacing is essential. Especially for a team like Memphis, whose offense is centered are a guard that thrives at getting downhill.
As the NBA’s leading scorer in paint points per game, Morant has proven that he is a force around the rim at the guard position. Expanding his game to the perimeter more is by far the most important step in his development. As Jenkins mentioned, if he can become more of a threat from the outside, he will be one of the league’s most un-guardable players.
