47 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. This is the stat line of And Morant in Game 2, and the Grizzlies point guard squarely scored his team’s last 15 points to snatch victory. Unheard of since LeBron James in 2007, when the four-time MVP planted his team’s last 25 points in the conference final against the Pistons.
Fifteen years later, it is Ja Morant who is shaking an entire collective, and in the absence of Gary Payton II, Steve Kerr must find alternative solutions to slow him down. Because stopping it is impossible…
“If you think you are going to stop Jokic or Morant, you are living in an imaginary world” explains Steve Kerr. “We don’t stop these guys. We’re just trying to win the game. Whatever that means, whether it’s limiting them as best you can, taking the easy stuff away from them… You have to find the best way to win the game. »
“He is a very, very great player. Not one person can stop it.”
To compensate for the absence of Gary Payton II, Steve Kerr will not be able to count on Andre Iguodala, and it is therefore collectively that his players will try to curb the Morant phenomenon.
“Players will have to raise their level of play in the absence of Gary” warns the Golden State coach. “JK (Kuminga) could be one of them. Damion Lee too. You can look at different combinations. We can play Looney more off the bench. But defending on Ja requires a collective effort. He is a very, very great player. Not one person can stop it. It is a collective effort. And without Gary, it’s an even trickier job. »
According to NBC Sports, Steve Kerr should opt for Andrew Wiggins as the first defenseman over Ja Morant. The Warriors winger has simply become one of the best defensemen in his position, and his size and mobility could hinder the Memphis point guard.
For Kevon Looney, “Wiggs” has become the specialist for difficult missions and tasks. Like Draymond Green, he praises the qualities of his teammate.
“Wiggs is very good, especially with our small ball five” points out Kevon Looney. “Since there are a lot of attackers, we ask him to do the dirty work. I don’t know if he’s ever had to do it in his career, but he’s doing very well. It brings the energy and effort we need. It’s a little weird to ask an All-Star player to take on this kind of role, but he accepts it, while still being able to score. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Stephen Curry | 64 | 34.6 | 43.7 | 38.0 | 92.3 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 25.5 |
| Klay Thompson | 32 | 29.4 | 42.9 | 38.5 | 90.2 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 20.4 |
| Jordan Poole | 76 | 30.0 | 44.8 | 36.4 | 92.5 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 18.5 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 73 | 31.9 | 46.6 | 39.3 | 63.4 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 17.2 |
| Jonathan Kuminga | 70 | 16.9 | 51.3 | 33.6 | 68.4 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 9.3 |
| Otto Porter | 63 | 22.2 | 46.4 | 37.0 | 80.3 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 8.2 |
| Draymond Green | 46 | 28.9 | 52.5 | 29.6 | 65.9 | 1.0 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 7.5 |
| Damion Lee | 63 | 19.9 | 44.1 | 33.7 | 88.0 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 7.4 |
| Gary Payton Ii | 71 | 17.6 | 61.6 | 35.8 | 60.3 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.1 |
| Nemanja Bjelica | 71 | 16.1 | 46.8 | 36.2 | 72.8 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 6.1 |
| Kevon Looney | 82 | 21.1 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 60.0 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 6.0 |
| Moses Moody | 52 | 11.7 | 43.7 | 36.4 | 77.8 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 4.4 |
| Juan Toscano-anderson | 73 | 13.6 | 48.9 | 32.2 | 57.1 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 4.1 |
| Andre Iguodala | 31 | 19.4 | 38.0 | 23.0 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 4.0 |
| Quinndary Weatherspoon | 11 | 6.7 | 57.1 | 20.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
| Chris Chiozza | 34 | 10.9 | 29.6 | 32.1 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.0 |
| Jeff Dowtin | 4 | 6.9 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
