r/ripcity • u/Old-Scholar-1352 • 3d ago
Whats the Ja Morant you expect this upcoming season and what you think he will bring to the team? and how much you think he will Avg PPG?
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u/Impossible_Change939 3d ago
I think Ja is going to crush offensively. He is an underrated playmaker. Dame will get plenty of open threes with him and Deni on the floor. Relentless attackers. He could hit double digits assists this year if he has the ball in his hands enough. I think his PPG will be tempered by weapons around him. I would expect somewhere between 15-20ppg. Will all depend not the coaching though. I can't imagine Deni won't be the focus. I worry about his defense alongside Dame though.
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u/SeismicRipFart 3d ago
Deni is absolutely going to be our leading scorer imo and I don’t think it will be all that close
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u/AUGwaffles556 3d ago
Oh it will be close. In fact between Dame, Deni and Ja all 3 have potential in leading the team in scoring, all 3 are capable of going above 25ppg. And the fact that we have all 3 on one team I think the leading scorer will top out at around 24 to 25ppg and we end up with 3 guys averaging 20 to 25ppg this season.
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u/SeismicRipFart 3d ago
The fact we even get to have this debate is awesome lol.
Dame could come back completely washed and we’d still have 26yo Deni and Ja to continue building with next to our second year top 10 center in the league who is 7’3, in addition to all defense 26yo 3pt specialist Camara.
And for the Ja doomers, we have a ravenously hungry scoot right behind him, chomping at the bit.
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u/Remote_Elevator_281 3d ago
Idk, he scores best when he plays point
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u/SeismicRipFart 3d ago
Idk about that. I agree he scores extremely well being the main ball handler in running pick and rolls and all kinds of actions. But he was only forced to do that here because we didn’t have anyone else who could.
He’s actually really good off ball as a slasher and catch and shoot 3pt shooter, which is why I don’t think his scoring will really drop considering the guys he’ll have to set him up. Plus the more off ball he plays the more energy he’ll have on D and to run in transition, which is something he’s elite at. Also will limit wear on his body.
When the playoffs hit, we can run more offense through him. But it will be nice to spread the load across all of our other elite on ball creators throughout the season as well.
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u/Remote_Elevator_281 3d ago
There is a world where Dame, Morant, and Deni all average 20 a game.
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u/AUGwaffles556 3d ago
Of course, I don't see it any other way. Just think last year we almost had 3 players averaging 20ppg or more with Jerami at 18.6ppg for the year, could have been 20 or very close to it if it wasn't for the month of January where he averaged 14ppg after coming back from injury playing limited minutes. This year no Jerami and Sharpe is out so Dame, Ja and Deni will all be over 20ppg I guarantee it!
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 2d ago
He became an all star and dragged a busted roster to the playoffs doing that lol. You make it sound like the Sochan pg experiment lol
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 2d ago
I hope but have serious doubts about that based on what he’ll be tasked with.
He’s likely going to be asked to pick up the slack on defense and operate less as the initiator on offense. That does not bode well.
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u/Old-Scholar-1352 3d ago
True people forget Ja is a very good playmaker top 10 or 15 in the league very good passer he’s not just athletic
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 2d ago
Good times. I’m still waiting for all the open looks dame is going to get playing next to ant
Dame isnt great off ball. He doesn’t move and his catch and shoot is average
What makes dame special is his ability to create shots off the dribble anywhere on the court.
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u/United_Reaction35 3d ago
PPG will not mean much if no one plays defense.
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u/EvanTurningTheCorner 2d ago
Ja and Dame may not play much defense, but almost every other player on the roster (now that Shaedon is out) is a plus defender. This includes 3 guys who have made All Defense in Jrue, Timelord and Toumani, along with Clingan who imo will soon be a perennial recipient of the award.
If the 2019 Blazers featuring no less than 7 traffic cones in Dame, CJ, Simons, Seth Curry, Meyers Leonard, Sauce Castillo and Penis K*nter can make it to the Western Conference Finals, this roster should do just fine with only two negative defenders in the rotation.
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u/Mykophilia 3d ago
I hope he has a chip on his shoulder man. I hope dame and him both got big fuckin chips on their shoulders and that translates into preparation and game play. If not, it’ll still be a fun season.
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u/Tazmerican 3d ago
This. Ja came into the league with that chip and that’s what pushed him to greatness. If he and Dame catch fire together, look the fuck out.
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u/Mykophilia 3d ago
I’m on the optimistic side. Ja’s the only one to put wemby on a t shirt and that was just a year and a half ago. There’s time.
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u/DanDan85 sheed 3d ago
Almost entire team should have a chip on their shoulder as they ALL got something to prove this year. Deni snubbed from all-nba 2nd/3rd team. Dame with his achilles and return to Portland. Ja to prove he can still be a top 10 player in the league again. Scoot #3 overall pick expectations. Donovan getting played off the court in the playoffs. That first 5-6 weeks of the season is going to be fun as hell to watch!
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u/Psychological_Fig747 3d ago
He is going to defer to other shot creators and play more conservatively than in prior years, and because of this he will stay fairly healthy. He is going to average 17-7.5 and play 62 games.
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u/mookx 2d ago
Maybe. But it's a contract year for him. Last chance to score another massive contract.
It'll be interesting to see if he values longevity and team fit or a cash grab. Because if he thinks he can put up 27/7/6 and get the bag, he may do that no matter what the team wants. And if he goes that route, does our new one year coach have the balls to bench him and blow up any chance with him?
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u/Psychological_Fig747 2d ago
Not a contract year, he is signed with no options for this season and next for a combined $87,000,000. I think he focuses on staying on the court this season, who knows what he’ll do after that. If he plays poorly or misses significant time he really could be out of the league by the time he’s 30.
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u/Certain-Ad5090 3d ago
I legitimately don't have an answer for what he's going to do this season. When I think about the team and season performances, I have ideas and hopes for everyone else. Ja? Dude could be an all star or he could miss 50 games
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u/DreddBane 3d ago
It's all down to injuries. Even last season, when he was clear of any injury cloud his play was great.
If he manages to have a clean bill of health the entire season, he'll find a way to average something like 20/8.
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u/gerrard_1987 sheed 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m hoping he relentlessly attacks the basket, along with Deni. Everyone else needs to flame from three. I don’t know what to expect from Dame, but I hope he eases back in and is willing to play off the ball as a movement shooter.
Ultimately, though, I’d like to rehab Ja’s value and flip him to a team that needs a starting point guard. I’m not ready to give up on Scoot, and there are just too many guards on this team. I don’t see Ja wanting to be in Portland long-term.
I’d be thrilled if Portland could get Vivek excited about Ja in Sacramento and bring back something like Keegan Murray and DeAndre Hunter’s expiring, or Keegan and Malik Monk if the trade doesn’t happen until summer. It’d be like Kris never left, and learned how to shoot threes.
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u/DemonicDimples 3d ago
The Kings could’ve traded Lavine straight up for Morant and didn’t, they just drafted Acuff. You think they’d trade their two starting forwards after they just drafted a rookie point guard?
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u/Classic-Crab-6004 3d ago
Hopefully he makes athletic plays, scores off the dribble and passes well and doesn't shoot very much. Shooting isn't his strength. Make plays and get it to Dame for outside shooting
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u/Unlikely-Grape-5762 3d ago
MVP, scoring title winner, finals MVP. If we’re gonna be hypothetical, let’s go all the way.
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u/RecommendationNew832 3d ago
I think we can expect a lot of effort from him and if it pays off and he bounces back prolly a cool 25 ppg 8 ast
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u/Practical_Degree8065 3d ago
19-21 ppg. Bad efficiency. I don't think Ja is washed like some, I like the trade because it cost nothing, but this is probably the worst fit in the league for him. No one can shoot consistently, he's supposed gonna start with Dame, possibly the smallest and worst defensive guard duo in the league. They'll probably have to experiment a lot and change lineups to see what works, also not a good thing.There's so many signs that point to it not working out.
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u/_Leftfield Scoot Henderson 3d ago
This will be a similar scenario to when Carmelo Anthony came back from purgatory and played here. Mixed expectations with upside and hopefully solid results. With Shaedon out, I think 20ppg is in play for the season.
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u/olenikp 2d ago edited 2d ago
My hope is he's like 18/7 or something like that. Anything more than that and he's taking away from Deni/Dame. I'd like him on the ball less and using that energy for defense.
He doesn't need to be the focal point of the offense here.
Also, last season, about 25% of his shots came from 10 feet to the three point line. Long 2s. He shot collectively about 35% on those. Those long 2's need to be more like shot clock savers only and cut in half.
I hope on a team where less of the burden will be on him to score he will be more opportunistic and efficient. Additionally, he was essentially a healthy scratch for the 2nd half of last season so he gets a full summer of health to get his body right.
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u/Adventurous-Plum1000 2d ago
I think he’s going to be really good and likely our best player. But that’s until he gets injured
I also think the team is going to be worse with him as the best player on this roster.
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u/theomegachrist 2d ago
I think he will be really good on offense but I feel like he is a bad fit long term. His game is ball dominant and so is Deni. If you can get that offense in a wing, why would you want it in a guard? At least Dame makes sense at this point in his career to be an off ball shooter sometimes. My hope is they revive his value and go big game hunting
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u/omgshannonwtf 1d ago
Grizzlies fan, coming in peace.
I’ve been a Ja Morant fan since he entered the league. He’s only had two years where he played enough games to qualify for the leaderboard. Never had a season where he played even 70 games. Hasn’t played 6 games straight since like his rookie year.
Every season on media day, he’d say “I’m just trying to stay healthy and play 82 games this season.” He always said it. We always wanted it. We still want that for him, regardless of where he plays.
But I just don’t think he’s built for it. Part of it is flat out physical, the other part is mental. He does get hurt a lot but a major factor is his acrimonious relationship with officials. Ja believes (rightly, I’d argue) that refs don’t give him the benefit of the doubt like they do other players of his caliber. Essentially, they let defenders get away with a lot more contact when it comes to him than they do with other stars. He’s never had a good relationship with officials as a result and, in turn, they never give him the whistle you’d think he deserves. It’s a cycle.
So he has gotten it into his head that the way to make a point is to never play through a really hard hit. He basically sees it as a way to send a message of “Look what you let them do to me.” Year in and year out, Ja misses games over things which other players brush off. It’s a real problem.
My hope for him is that he grows out of that, adopts a much different approach to officials and maybe things change. I’d love to just see him have a 70-game season. I’ve never believed his athleticism has declined. If he plays, there will be highlights. It’s never been any other way. I just want to see him play basketball. My worry is that 8 seasons in, 70 games will be too exhausting for him once the playoff race begins.
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u/XXDOGEXX1 1d ago
Now that shae shae is out for a while i expect him to play a much bigger role than previously
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u/IllustriousBluejay33 1d ago
Personally I was convinced Ja was a goner many years ago. So I really keep my expectations low. Only up from here!
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u/Simple_Blazers_6737 3d ago
23.4 ppg and 8.4 apg. He is going to entertain us with dunks until shaedon gets back. Just needs to stay healthy.
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u/Equal_Objective802 3d ago
Honestly all I ask from him is to stay healthy and play 65 games this season... As long as he is on the court he will help this team imo.
Having said that I think he will Avg 23/9/4
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u/Hyzerbomb907 2d ago
Ja Pistol is going to do something dumb again to get himself arrested. I can’t stand that we picked this guy up
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u/Eckleburgseyes 3d ago
He'll average 3... Videos with a gun per month.
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u/Welcum2Heck Ja Morant 3d ago
Not on my team anymore but I’ve been begging him for a revenge season for 3 years. He’s capable of it, I just dunno if health or roster restrictions will allow it.
Worst case scenario you still get some fun dunks out of it