MEMPHIS, Tenn. – “I don’t pay any attention to that stuff. It’s nonsense.”
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was pretty much speaking for all of us in Memphis when he called out former NBA Hall of Famer and TNT hoops analyst Charles Barkley for his comments on Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant Tuesday night.
Did you hear this?
Barkley said Morant needs to learn to make players around him better. That he hasn’t added that to his game yet.
What?
Chuck, why not just say you don’t watch many Grizz games because if you did, you’d know that Morant is much more than those high-flying dunks.
He also gets his teammates involved a lot, like more than seven assists a game this year and averaging seven assists a game over his career.
When asked at practice Thursday if Morant makes them better, the response was exactly what you’d expect from Ja’s teammates.
“I usually like Charles’ comments, like to some point. But I thought that one was real off cause like, I’m one of the dudes where I feel like I’m directly a much better player playing with Ja,” said Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. “I can for sure vouch. Bunch of lobs. Get a bunch of drop-off finishes. I don’t know what he’s talking about. I think Ja’s one of the highest, ranked players in terms of making his teammates better.”