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    • Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant is back as a playmaker, Santi Aldama steps in
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    Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant is back as a playmaker, Santi Aldama steps in

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    SALT LAKE CITY — As Bryn Ripley played her saxophone during the national anthem at the Delta Center on Wednesday night, players from the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz stood silent.

    Except one.

    Ja Morant rocked anxiously back and forth with each passing note. When Ripley finished the anthem, he was the first player to take off his Grizzlies sweatsuit.

    The long wait was over. Morant made his first appearance in a Grizzlies regular season game since January 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The result was a 126-124 victory over the Jazz.

    Morant saved one of his best moments for last. With 44 seconds left in the game and Memphis leading by three points, the Grizzlies All-Star dribbled the ball behind his back to slip past a defender, attacked the rim and finished off 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler with his left hand, to place the ball game away.

    Do you remember this sentence? It’s been a while, but Morant calls it time to call “12.”

    “I always have my phone in my pocket, ready to answer,” he said. “The ringtone is on too.”

    Ja Morant’s style of play is the focus

    Morant finished the game with 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting, but that may not have been the best part of his game. He was a master of playmaking, setting up easy scoring opportunities for his teammates with dazzling passes that rattled Utah’s defense.

    Morant finished the game with 10 assists in 28 minutes. Some of those passes came as his teammates cut to the basket, representing a new offensive principle that could set the stage for his best season yet as a playmaker. His assists per game reached a career-high 8.1 in the 2023-23 season. That number could be in jeopardy this season.

    “Right now I feel like there’s less pressure on me to score with the guys we have right now and the way we’re playing,” he said.

    Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey called it “fun” to be on the field with Morant orchestrating the offense. At one point, Morant faced a double team at the top of the 3-point line, looked to his right and surprisingly fired a pass to an open Jay Huff under the basket, which resulted in a foul.

    How did Morant even know Huff was there? He looked before the double team even arrived.

    “When you see it up close and not on TV, it’s something different,” Huff said.

    “It’s definitely a pleasure to watch and be a part of,” said Desmond Bane.

    Santi Aldama’s potential breakthrough

    Huff and Santi Aldama were two of the biggest beneficiaries of Morant’s playmaking. While Edey was in foul trouble and Brandon Clarke struggled, Aldama led the Grizzlies with 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting.

    In addition to his timely cut in the fourth quarter, Aldama knocked down five three-pointers on 10 attempts.

    He and the Grizzlies talked about that when they pointed to his burgeoning confidence in the preseason.

    “I feel really confident in my game,” he said. “I just try to do the right reading every time. If you do it over and over again, it will pay off.”

    EARLY ADJUSTMENTS: Memphis Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey fouls out against Utah Jazz in the first NBA game of his career

    Aldama represents Jaren Jackson Jr., who is recovering from a hamstring injury. If he continues to play like he did on Wednesday, he will continue to be in the game in the most difficult situations when Jackson returns.

    Bane, who scored 24 points and entered the league a year before Aldama, accepts the idea of ​​a breakout season from his teammate.

    “We saw that,” Bane said. “People have asked me who I think has made the jump to our new system based on the way we play. Santi had a chance to really explode.”

    Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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