Everything starts with Morant in Memphis

The Memphis Grizzlies are the hottest team in the NBA, winners of 11 straight games to get within a half-game of the best record in the Western Conference. As I pointed out in this week’s NBA betting futures column, if the Grizzlies keep winning then Ja Morant will keep rising in the NBA MVP debate.

But, the Grizzlies’ success is about a lot more than just their superstar point guard, and in fact they are a rare team that gets major statistical contributions from almost every position in a true team synergy. When I was a kid, I used to love the cartoon Voltron, where the five robot lions could merge into a giant robot hero that could defeat any enemy.

This season, the Grizzlies are channeling their inner Voltron.

It all starts with the black lion that formed Voltron’s torso, and for the Grizzlies that is Morant. Morant has flirted with the top-10 in my fantasy basketball points rankings all season built on his tremendous scoring and distributing production.

Morant is currently on pace to tie or set career highs in every major offense counting category with 27.4 PPG, 7.9 APG and 1.7 3PG. He joins fellow 2019 NBA Draft top-2 pick Zion Williamson as the most exciting, explosive finishers in the NBA that are always on deck for a top-10 Sportscenter play.

Morant’s eye-popping dunks may get the most attention, but his game is more meat-and-potatoes than flash. Morant is extremely quick with the ball in his hands, and almost impossible to keep out of the paint. And, per the Voltron theme, the Grizzlies have done an excellent job of surrounding him with outstanding shooters that keep opponents from being able to double or even effectively hedge extra defenders towards him.

As a result, according to Second Spectrum, Morant’s by-far most common shot type is the Driving Layup with 293 instances thus far, more than twice his second-most common shot attempt, the Driving Floater (130 instances).

And, when Morant drives for a layup, he generates a whopping 1.48 points per possession that is among the best in the NBA. In fact, Morant generates a very strong 1.20 points per possession in all isolation situations, another

In addition to isolating in all the space that his teammate shooters affords him, Morant is…