Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant believes there is only one team in his team’s way of winning a championship this season, and they aren’t in the NBA’s Western Conference.
For a second straight season, the Grizzlies look like they will be one of the elites of the West. The team finished with the second-best record in the conference last season as Ja Morant put the league on notice that Memphis was no longer a team of the future, but actually a team of the now.
In the spring, the Grizzlies seemed primed for at least a birth in the conference finals, but an unfortunate injury to the 23-year-old derailed those hopes and they were bounced from the NBA playoffs by eventual league champions, the Golden State Warriors.
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With the team owning the second-best record in the conference currently (19-11), Morant’s confidence is sky-high and he doesn’t see any team in the Western Conference that will stop him and his squad from reaching the NBA Finals in 2022-2023.
Ja Morant says Celtics are biggest threat to Memphis Grizzlies title hopes
On Thursday, ahead of the team’s game against the West-leading Denver Nuggets, Morant spoke to ESPN’s Malika Andrews and the contributor asked who he believes is the team they’ll need to “run through” in the playoffs. Morant kept it simple when he responded with, “The Celtics.”
The response was a bit surprising and Andrews quickly followed up asking if the one-time All-Star thought any team in the west could be a big hurdle to their championship aspirations. “Nah. I’m fine in the West,” Morant said.
The comment is all the more interesting because Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies came up short to the Nuggets and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic on Wednesday, 105-91.
- Ja Morant stats (2022): 27.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 7.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 37% 3PT
Morant’s confidence may come from the fact that the defending champion Warriors are struggling this season and the three teams with the best records in the NBA this season are in the Eastern Conference. Including the reigning East champion Celtics who own the best record in the NBA standings.