Ja Morant Won’t Credit Sixers for Forcing Bad Night

Thursday night’s game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Memphis Grizzlies did not have the best display of offense for the two All-Stars that were on the floor. On the Sixers’ side, Joel Embiid might’ve scored 27 points, but he did that while taking 25 shots and 17 free throws.

On the other end, Grizzlies’ guard Ja Morant scored just 15 points when he typically averages 27 a night. Going into the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed his team’s plan to slow down the impressive star, who can score in many different ways.

“You try to force him one way,” said Rivers. “Right more than left. He’s a strong left-hand driver, and he finishes left. He can go right. He’s spectacular. You try to crowd the paint as a group as much as possible. And individually, you try to be as physical as possible. You know, as physically as they let you.”

The Sixers put Morant on the line five times throughout the night. The All-Star guard drained all but one of his ten free throws. Fortunately for the Sixers, most of Morant’s trips to the free-throw line came early in the game. Down the stretch, they would play physical, but it only resulted in four free throws for Morant in the final 17 minutes of his time on the court.

Philly had a clear plan to slow down Morant’s attack, which proved to be successful. However, Morant wasn’t giving any credit to his opponent’s defense on Thursday night.

When asked what the Sixers’ defense did to keep him away from getting successful looks at the rim, Morant had one word: “Nothing,” he said.

The plan to keep Morant going left worked well for the Sixers. Of Morant’s 11 shots in the paint, just five were on the right side. Overall, Morant made just 19 percent of his shots on Thursday. It was a bad shooting night for the guard, but it’s tough not to credit the Sixers’ defense for making it hard on him.

Not only did Tobias Harris have one of his better defensive performances, especially in the second half, but Joel Embiid was a major presence down low, preventing the Grizzlies from getting easy looks at the rim. In 39 minutes, Embiid blocked 7.8 percent of the Grizzlies’ shots. He finished the night with six total.

Although Morant and the Grizzlies had a 17-point lead over the Sixers in the first half, a 63-26 rally in the final two quarters allowed the Sixers to form a 110-105 comeback win.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.