Ja Morant Calls NBA Restart Format Unfair to Grizzlies: 'More Fuel to the Fire'

The Memphis Grizzlies head into the NBA's restart as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, with a 3.5-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans.

And rookie phenom Ja Morant doesn't believe it's fair that even if the team maintains that cushion after eight more regular-season games, it'll be forced to participate in a play-in game, as he said on ESPN's The Jump on Thursday. 

"But, you know, we can't control that," he added. "Only thing we can control is how, you know, we go out and attack each of these games before that decision is made."

Teams may head into the postseason having played a different number of games because the coronavirus halted the season March 11, and the NBA settled on an eight-game regular season for this week's restart and a standard playoff format. 

The one difference is that if the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds finish within four games of each other, they'll face off in a play-in matchup. That could hurt a team like Memphis, which is in the driver's seat to lock down the No. 8 seed. 

But Morant is using it as motivation. 

"I just feel like it's an extra chip," he said. "You know—more fuel to the fire, more motivation for us."

The 20-year-old Morant is a deserving front-runner to be named Rookie of the Year—depending on where voters fall on Zion Williamson's injury-shortened campaign—and has injected life into a Grizzlies team that came into the season with fairly low expectations. 

"Coming into the season, I think we were projected to be 29th, and look at us now," Morant said. "So we just use that as fuel, continue to work. We're all very hungry. We know what we're capable of. Just go out and play."

Morant is averaging 17.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game, shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three. He's also a nightly highlight waiting to happen, given his explosive athleticism.

Ja Morant slams home the alley-oop

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Alongside Jaren Jackson Jr., he's given the Grizzlies an exciting young one-two punch. That combination was expected to revitalize the franchise in the years to come. Instead, it's a bit ahead of schedule and looking to secure a playoff berth.