I really appreciate how you guys add real footage of plays as you’re discussing the examples. Other channels just add generic old and irrelevant footage

2:37 I want nba fans to use the term “court map” more often. Not every player is tall like LeBron or Jokic so not everyone has good court vision to make the open passes. Having a good court map is a completely different skill. Double team comes or the defense collapses, Ja can’t physically see his teammates, but he has the awareness to know where his guys are at all times

5:50 Couple of points on Ja’s efficiency that I recall from Ben’s own videos. In a video on Kidd’s passing, Ben breaks down the idea that more turnovers is not necessarily a bad thing. A lob pass is far more valuable than any other pass on the court because of its conversion rate, so making that more difficult pass is more beneficial to the offense, even if it results in more turnovers. Ben has made a similar point on Kyrie’s efficiency at the rim which applies much more. Although his field goal percentage indicates that Kyrie is barely average at converting at the rim, if you watch the game and see the actual attempts, you’ll realize that his ability to convert at his percentage is remarkable considering the shot selection. In a recent episode of JJ Redick’s podcast, Cam Thomas talks about shooting “grenades” which are basically low efficiency end of the shot clock attempts. We know that the further you get in the shot clock, the more inefficient the possession, so the ability to just go and get a difficult bucket even at a below avergae fg% is incredibly valuable, especially in the playoffs. I’ll conclude with a point Ben made on Embiid’s midrange in a recent episode. Based on just his midrange shooting, the PPP is not impressive, but that does not take into consideration the free throws drawn, or the passes created from that action. In the same vein, even if Ja’s attempts at the rim suffer in terms of PPP, I’d bet that the offense that creates in terms of three point kick outs or lob attempts are incredibly efficient (Kidd example, by drawing more of the attention on his own shot attempts, I would bargain Ja’s turnovers are better in these situations as it opens up the floor for his teammates)

Loved watching his meteoric rise from unranked to second overall pick back in 2019. Excited to see him in his prime hopefully filling out the D Rose dream.

This aged so bad lmaoooo

if he can stay on the court then maybe staying out of his head is key

If Ja can save the Grizzlies that will be a Cinderella story

When is the "Best of NBA Offense" series coming back? I LOVE it! Such great work!

I know we don't call carry anymore but that carry at 7:30 was egregious lol

Guy carries the ball on every possession!

It depends if the goal is the get to the playoffs and lose Or tank and get better picks for a more successful next season... That seems to be how many clubs play it But is Ja electric? Yes

He carries the ball better than anyone I've ever seen, that is for certain.

Even though the highlights come from him doing things like MVP Derrick Rose, to me it's the mix of Tony Parker in paint finishes and drawing fouls in transition like MVP Russ that helps them get into the penalty and open up teammates with the pressure he puts on the defense that impress me the most.

I agree with Ben about the shooting outside the paint. If Ja can get that to league average or above average, you'll have defenses really second guessing what to defend. The elite players have that change of pace. Excellent point about Desmond Bane being a great running mate. The defense can't fully collapse in the paint if there's a knockdown shooter on the court because the ball will find them.

Bro just went out for the season

he is basically the same archetype as westbrook, lots of rim pressure but trouble finishing(better shot selection tho), eventually people will notice that, so if his shot doesnt come back to decent he is going to struggle and the grizzlies too.

You have a really good voice dude

just through the 5 games that Ja has played so far, it’s frustrating to see how many times Ja creates a GREAT shot for a teammate just for them to brick wide open threes or miss at the rim. it’s past time for Memphis to start trying to bring in guys that have established themselves as consistent shooters. I like a lot of the guys they’ve drafted recently; Vince Williams, David Roddy, Santi Aldama and Zaire Williams all play hard and defend pretty well, but none of them - to this point - are reliable jump shooters or play finishers. it’s so much more difficult for Ja to get to the rim when he’s surrounded by lineups full of guys that the defense doesn’t fear on the perimeter. hopefully Luke Kennard can help with that problem whenever he gets back from injury. in previous years, Memphis has been able to get away with not being a great jump shooting team by relentlessly crashing the glass and creating extra shots with physical frontcourt players like Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. now that they’re both out, it makes for some really rough dry spells for Memphis’ offense.

The first thing I noticed from his first game was he looked way stronger then he ever has

Bruh Ja is nasty but every one of those clips he’s either carrying it or a ridiculous quick travel 😂

i like that you add how his teammate cannot finish an open dunk compilation.. the big man and wings have been horrendous

I drafted Ja Morant in the 90s in fantasy and stashed him. My trust in him was well deserved, it would appear.

Memphis remained a tough team with Ja out but just couldn’t score enough and now they get their best player back the difference is night and day , i think a play in spot is up for grabs for them.

what really "jumps out to me" is the brutal carries that are allowed these days.

another curse by this channel on a star player

He's being hindered by poor spacing around him as well. The Grizzlies would massively benefit from a center who can either make 3s or atleast be an elite rim threat to sit in the dunker's spot when Ja drives, someone like Luka has on the Mavs in Derrick Lively

Haven't seen highlights like these since prime drose

Reminds me of an even taller and stronger pre-injury D Rose. Just so explosive around the rim, things we haven’t seen since, well Derrick fucking Rose.

another banger

I’ve been listening to the pod for 2 years and just realized Cody has long hair…

He needs to do the steve Nash trick he doesn't need to stop pressuring the rim just stop jumping 1 on 3 at the rim u got hops but not westbrook body

It’s crazy how you pronounce archetype lol

"Live trigger" off the bounce lmao

Like maybe as quick as anyone I've seen. A very good passer. But a minus defender, just an ok FT shooter, and not a good enough range shooter to make teams consistently pay for how much they have to back off him. He's still young but he's getting close to his prime years and his game still is lacking in some important ways. Not to mention his maturity and the mental aspects of being a professional and a leader. He still has a ways to go. I hope he gets there.

Once that 3 starts falling he’s on a whole other level.

Please do D Rose

Jaylen Brown breakdown your next video Thinking Basketball 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤

This aged well

why does cody record inside the sauna?

Has athleticism, working on shooting all the time, nothint can stop him

Damn i went to watch this video too late

He reminds me so much of young AI

He can and he will

Whenever I watch Ja he sometimes reminds me of Manu

Great critiques; both epic. The negative critique of Ja begs the question: “how in the world does he score so much as non efficient he is?” And “How crazy would an efficient Ja look like?!?”

They failed to mention Ja's arsenal of weapons he's not shy about flashing.

This aged as well as the Super-team in Brooklyn...

Well this is a little awkward now

I love Ja, but sadly no. The Grizzlies have way too may holes to fix (3 point shooting and REBOUNDING). If Steph couldn't save GSW during the 2020-2021 season, then I highly doubt Ja can save this season. Edit: You changed the original title, but my opinion still stands.

Very entertaining player. I wish him the best.

No, the west is loaded. The Grizzles have to many teams to leap over. Memphis will not make it into the post season.

Russell Westbrook, Derrick rose type of player

No he can't, Regardless of the positives you listed. in any top level competition you can not afford to put yourself, and your team, in a disadvantage like Grizzlies are in and come out unscathed. They can beat Pistons and Spurs, but then who can't.

Hes really a baby jordan out there now lol

Sadly Ja is out for the season with a torn shoulder...

People are making way too much out of these 4 games.... This team is not going to be an amazing team. Watch them start taking a bunch of losses in upcoming games.

He needs to improve his shooting before he becomes old

yeah i loved his gun signs as well

He's like AI if the refs never called a travel or carry.

NOPE!

Yes, he can.

No matter what he does and how much he achieves he will always be the little man playing with a gun who is probably scared of the dark😂 There is no 100 point game he can do that won't make first laugh at the kid Ja Morant and then give my respect towards the game 😂

Doesn’t seem like it.

A rose/westbrook archetype. However, the sustainability of this type of play does not age well.

4:36 was painful to watch

Ja is a great shooter too 😊

0:47 Feels outdated and not good, great you got the paint clogged and a bunch of guys who cant enter now.

no

I just need this dude to stay away from guns. That's it. Can he just do that? Can he!? Please Ja!

Ja Morant is now out for the season.

Even though his defense still needs improvement (though it has gotten a little better, disregarding flu games), he’s still a considerably better defender than Doncic. Also he does get blocks and steals with all those ups and athleticism. But yeah, I think he should work on the defensive pressure, though I think his awareness has improved. Part of the issue is his offensive style just takes sooo much gas (Doncic does not have that excuse at all). As a Memphis fan, I was kind of happy when he got the 25 game suspension because his body works better with that rest, come playoff time. To be real, if you look at injury time now versus 90s, the season should just be about 18 games shorter.

WTF DOES PRBH MEAN WTF

I believe he will not be effective in a playoff situation. It's much harder to drive when there is high defensive intensity. How do these same numbers hold up in the playoffs/clutch moments? And he is matchup-hunted on the other end which is hunted for key baskets throughout the game.

Ja can’t make a 3 to save his life

He's very special. I'm not a big fan of his personality off the court and especially as the face of the league. However, his leaping and ability to finish/squeeze through traffic is prime D Rose-esque.

💀

The real question is can Ja Morant save his own career before he ruins it with stupid decisions🤣

Because of his carrying

Ja morcarry

dog @ 7:05

I swear everytime one of these sensational videos comes out, the opposite occurs and something bad happens to that player or team lol this did not age well, their season is cooked

LOL

euh last 3 games the grizzlies have lost stop lying

The grizzlies were clearly better without him

Rose 2.0 Hyper reliant on his athleticism. Makes very poor decisions (and we're just talking on court here) with regards to trying to posterize people and just jumping into the defense without a plan. Injuries will take away his career, that is if he can stay unbanned long enough.

you guys are reaching. Anyway, you’re very overdue for a Jaime Jaques breakdown. I know you hate the Heat, but if you want to be an actual objective basketball channel. Ja Morant is really low on the totem pole lol

I thought this channel is called Thinking basketball, did you guys use your brain in your Top 25 under 25 podcast? Waste of time

26ppg 8apg on 48% and 12% with 4 TO's a game is hardly incredible. De'aaron Fox's numbers piss on his, 30ppg 6apg on 49% and 40% with 2.5 TO's and i never hear u say a peep about him. The media's ability to Hype up one player and ignore another becuase ones a loud mouth moron with "Street Cred" and down play and flat out ignore the other becuase he doesn't do something stupid every other month astonishes me.

This is probably the worst take I’ve heard from y’all

he's overrated.. another steve francis

Overrated

I am so tired of hearing about this guy. He can't even hit a jump shot. It's like he's LeBron James but more exciting. All he can do is dunk and lay up the ball. outside shots He shoots and hit at a very low percentage just like LeBron. All it takes for ja is one leg injury and his career is over. All he can do is lay up and dunk. He never developed a jump shot

Didn't help much at all against my Clipps though..

This aged well