Ja Morant Off The Bench?

Dillon Brooks said that Ja Morant offered to come off the bench when he makes his return to the Memphis Grizzlies.

On Tuesday evening, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-108 at home in Tennessee.

They played their ninth straight game without their best player Ja Morant (who was ruled out for conditioning after being suspended eight games by the NBA).

The All-Star point guard is eligible to return at any point, and it's possible he will return Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets. 

Despite his absence, the Grizzlies have played well, and they are in the middle of a three-game winning streak.

After the victory over the Mavs, Dillon Brooks revealed that Morant offered to come off the bench when he makes his return (via Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian, h/t HoopsHype). 

Hill Tweeted: "Dillon Brooks said Ja Morant told the team he wanted to come off the bench with the way they are playing right now.

“I told him ‘HELL NO! You’re too good a player and you’re the engine of this team.’”"

Morant has played in 53 games and has outstanding averages of 27.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.

Right now, the Grizzlies are the second seed in the Western Conference with a 44-27 record in 71 games. 

They are 3.5 games back of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets for the first seed (and one game ahead of the Sacramento Kings). 

At home, the Grizzlies have been unbelievable, going 30-5 in the 35 games they have hosted in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Last season, they lost in the second round of the NBA Playoffs (after finishing with the second-best record in the league).