Years of experience in taking flight and catching every alley-oop lob possible has left Ja Morant, seemingly, trained for something quite remarkable: the ability to snatch them from the air on the defensive end. Rare in his ability to offset one-on-two fastbreak disadvantages by himself, Morant — unwilling to FedEx Forum’s rims to be rocked by any team other than his own — leaps skyward, vacuuming up Nick Smith’s alley-oop attempt with a swat. Unfinished in creating a magical sequence, Morant races to the floor’s opposite side, using a drive-and-kick to set up a teammate’s 3-pointer. Four minutes into January 22, 2025’s game, Morant and his sharpshooting teammates left it abundantly clear, how the tone would be set in the Memphis Grizzlies’ victory. Nearly undefeated in games in which he produces 10+ assists, Morant reintroduced that formula against the Charlotte Hornets, collecting 16 points (on just nine shots), four rebounds, 13 assists, three steals, one block, and two 3-pointers. · Jan 23, 2025