Ja Morant believes the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns would fare poorly in the upcoming NBA Cup. Other than delving into the fates of the two teams, Morant made daring predictions about which team from both conferences would triumph in the league’s in-season tournament.
In the Western Conference, Ja Morant picked his team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Sacramento Kings, to advance to the knockout stage of the Cup. Morant’s team in the West C group would face four challenging teams.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, Suns, and Thunder share the West B group. The first team to defend its championship would also win the Cup.
The Lakers are 4-4 in the standings despite a 3-0 start. They recently lost against the Grizzlies, who have a 5-4 record. Meanwhile, the Warriors and the Suns are in the highest places, each with a 7-1 record.
Morant then picked the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers as the Eastern Conference’s promising teams. He omitted the Indiana Pacers, last season’s finalists.
The West’s New Orleans Pelicans and the East’s New York Knicks then became Ja Morant’s choices for the NBA Cup’s wildcard entries.
The Emirates NBA Cup commences on November 12. The 30 teams divided into six groups will compete for eight spots in the knockout stage. The league counts all tournament games as regular season standings, so a win is still necessary for vying teams such as Morant’s Grizzlies.
Ja Morant retains hostilities with Lakers superstar
The tensions between Ja Morant and LA Lakers’ LeBron James remain present as both stars clashed during their game. The showdown between the two teams saw the former winning the match, 131-114.
In the post-game interview, Morant had his candid thoughts regarding the match, particularly his often taunts and sneers with James:
“I did a ‘too small’ to somebody who was too small, [and] he [James] came back and did it respectfully. He did it and I don’t back down from nobody, I don’t care who you are. … You take out the top dog, who else you fear?,” Morant said.
Morant also has hostilities with the Lakers roster, replying, “I don’t like them,” when asked about his perceptions of the team.
Ja Morant’s Grizzlies previously lost against the Lakers during the 2022-23 playoffs. Last season, Morant also had his season-ending injury against the Lakers. These unfortunate events caused the star point guard to develop antagonism toward the Los Angeles-based team.
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