Grizzlies’ shocking record without Ja Morant set to make NBA history

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  The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the best teams in the NBA this season, and it’s not necessarily solely because of Ja Morant. In fact, they are playing way better without their superstar, which they proved once again during Wednesday’s contest against the Brooklyn Nets.

With Morant sidelined for the second straight game because of a knee injury, Desmond Bane and company used a balanced attack to fend off Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets. Bane and De’Anthony Melton led the team in scoring with 23 points each, while Dillon Brooks had 21 points as a total of seven Grizzlies scored in double figures.

In the process, the Grizzlies improved to 15-2 without Morant this season. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it is the third-highest win percentage in a season by a team when playing without their All-Star. The only other teams to do it were the Boston Celtics in 1964-65 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019-20.

The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the best teams in the NBA this season, and it’s not necessarily solely because of Ja Morant. In fact, they are playing way better without their superstar, which they proved once again during Wednesday’s contest against the Brooklyn Nets.

With Morant sidelined for the second straight game because of a knee injury, Desmond Bane and company used a balanced attack to fend off Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets. Bane and De’Anthony Melton led the team in scoring with 23 points each, while Dillon Brooks had 21 points as a total of seven Grizzlies scored in double figures.

In the process, the Grizzlies improved to 15-2 without Morant this season. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it is the third-highest win percentage in a season by a team when playing without their All-Star. The only other teams to do it were the Boston Celtics in 1964-65 and the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019-20.

It is worth noting, however, that both those squads have other All-Stars. For one, the 1964-65 Boston team had Bill Russell and Sam Jones, while the 2019-20 Bucks had Giannis Antetokounmpo. For their part, the Grizzlies only have one in Morant.

    The Grizzlies are 15-2 without Ja Morant this season.

That is the 3rd-highest win percentage in a season by a team when playing without its All-Star (min. 10 games). pic.twitter.com/sHUK6UnLec

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 24, 2022

This incredible stat speaks volumes on the great job head coach Taylor Jenkins and his staff have done in developing the young core of the team. It also shows how deep the squad is and the strong “next man up” mentality they have.

Of course it doesn’t mean they don’t need Ja Morant. After all, it is their young All-Star that strikes fear into the heart of their opponents, and he is their go-to guy when the going gets tough.

Nonetheless, it is definitely comforting for the whole franchise to know that they are not a team dependent on just their star player. They are filled with hungry and motivated individuals who want to win at the highest level, and that is showing with the way they approach the game.

The Grizzlies have nine games left on the season, and while it is unknown when Morant will be able to return, it doesn’t look like he has to rush back

and play. Surely, he can take his time and make sure he is 100 percent for the postseason when Memphis needs him the most.

READ MORE - Grizzlies’ shocking record without Ja Morant set to make NBA history

The Miami Heat, currently in first place in the East, almost ripped each other to shreds Wednesday night

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  If you hadn't been following the NBA recently and just took one look at the top of the Eastern Conference standnings, you'd assume things were all hunky dory in Miami Heat-land. You'd be incorrect.

Yes, the Heat are alone atop the East, but their once comfortable lead has shrunk to 1.5 games, and it's not just one team in striking distance. The new-look Philadelphia 76ers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics are all right there and ready to pounce, all thanks to the Heat dropping four of their last seven games.

In their most recent loss to the Golden State Warriors, who were without their big three of Steph, Klay and Draymond, frustrations boiled over. Things got extra hot for the Heat, if you will. Jimmy Butler, not surprisingly, was at the center of it all, which was great news for the "Jimmy Butler is a terrible teammate" truthers. The first clip to hit social media was from a member of the media sitting about 20 rows up, and it showed Butler jawing and finger-pointing with both head coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat legend/benchwarmer Udonis Haslem:

Then the second clip hit, giving us a much closer look at the chaos:

Then clips three, four and five hit, each one better than the last, featuring a Spoelstra clipboard smash, Kyle Lowry calling for a timeout (??) in the middle of it all, and a fascinating angle of Spoelstra incredulously asking if Butler actually wanted Spoelstra to fight him. Thank God for smartphones:

Absolute MADNESS! And boy, as an impartial observer, it sure does look like Butler and only Butler is in the wrong here. But, we should point out that this was immediately after a 19-0 Warriors run to start the third quarter, so it's fair to say everyone was running a little hot. Lowry chalked it up to passionate players frustrated with losing.

"Listen, our guys really want to win basketball games and we have guys that work extremely hard," Lowry said. "The passion comes out. The fire and the emotions come out sometimes. But like I said, to us it's nothing. We conversated and had a conversation and we continue to build."

Spoelstra echoed that sentiment, even going as far as to say it could help the team in the long run.

"You can use moments during the season to catapult you," Spoelstra said. "You can galvanize together over frustration and disappointment. Teams can also go the other way. I don't see that with our group. I don't see that with our locker room. But we have needed a kick in the butt."

The good news for Miami is the play the New York Knicks next. A get-right game if we've ever seen one.

READ MORE - The Miami Heat, currently in first place in the East, almost ripped each other to shreds Wednesday night

Madeleine Albright had a lot to say about Putin — and she didn't mince words

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  When Madeleine Albright met Russian President Vladimir Putin more than 20 years ago as the U.S. secretary of state, she said he was trying to ingratiate himself to then-President Clinton — but Putin also "had a view of how things were going to go."

Albright, the first woman to become U.S. secretary of state, has died at the age of 84, according to her family.

She served as secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton administration. Clinton appointed her ambassador to the United Nations in 1993.

Albright spoke with NPR last June ahead of a meeting in Geneva between Russian and U.S. leaders. The former secretary of state recalled the first time she met Putin, in 1999 — emphasizing that his agenda was clear from the beginning.

He was "trying very hard to ingratiate himself with President Clinton," she said during an interview on All Things Considered.

"But my impression in the second two meetings were that he very much liked the background of being in the Kremlin with all its history, that he was smart, that he was prepared and that he had a view about how things were going to go," Albright added.

Albright said Putin isn't "easy to manage," despite meeting four U.S. presidents since his first introduction with Clinton.

"I think he is somebody that is very competent in his capabilities generally. And he believes that he is the sole reason, in many ways, that Russia now is on the world stage and that he wants to make sure that Russia is always taken into consideration," Albright told NPR.

"But Russia is alone. And it's never been clearer than it will be this time because President Biden has just come from some remarkable meetings — the G7, NATO and the EU. And we have allies, and Putin is alone," she added.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for a month, resulting in nearly 5,000 civilian casualties across the country, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State.

Russian forces have hit spaces where Ukrainian civilians are present, such as schools, shopping centers, hospitals and apartment buildings.

READ MORE - Madeleine Albright had a lot to say about Putin — and she didn't mince words