Ja Morant return was a mixed bag for Grizzlies

The revolving door that is the Memphis Grizzlies' starting lineup swung back open for Ja Morant on Friday night against the Utah Jazz.

He did not walk into a win.

In fact, it's been more than a month, first due to the Grizzlies' struggles with him playing, and then his absence due to a calf injury -- during which they actually foot their footing, especially defensively, behind Zach Edey, who is now out another month.

Without Edey, Memphis gave up 130 points to Utah, quite a falloff after consistently keeping opponents under 110 of late. While it's hard to correlate the dropoff to Morant's return, in light of Edey's corresponding absence, it can be said that Morant's reappearance had mixed impact at best. Yes, he scored 21 points and added 10 assists and four rebounds in just 25 minutes. And yes, the Grizzlies were worse at times with him off the floor.

But he also made some questionable decisions down the stretch.

Ja Morant came into tonight shooting 10-60 from three this season pic.twitter.com/WEm4121AQ0
— JP Chunga (@JP_Chunga) December 13, 2025

The most egregious was a three-point attempt from the top of the circle while down two, not a bad look with how open he was and the fact that he had made two of four earlier -- but not really his shot this season.

Other aspects were encouraging.

He got to his spots, even while missing 5 of 16 from inside the arc. His floaters may start falling, after he had some bad bounces. And he may be more dynamic overall as he rounds into shape; his attempt to end Kevin Love's existence (again!) showed he still has his hops.

6 years later, and Ja is still trying to end Kevin Love's career pic.twitter.com/S7sQdLEZYT
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 13, 2025

But ultimately, Love got the last laugh. The veteran backup had a junior moment, scoring 20 points for the first time in forever. And the Jazz won, which was a rare Grizzlies loss against an under .500 team. The Grizzlies were racking up victories against such teams with Morant out.

So Morant must keep getting better if Memphis is to survive this stretch without Edey, in a way the Grizzlies could not earlier this season. And so must Jaren Jackson, Jr., who continues to be ordinary when Memphis needs more from someone at his salary.