Ja Morant Heaps Praise on Rocket’s Guard Russell Westbrook

Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant spoke highly of Russell Westbrook and called him his favourite player. He appreciates guards who combine aggressiveness and athleticism.

Morant said:

“I still feel like he’s highly disrespected,” Morant told ESPN on Wednesday before playing against Westbrook for the first time. “People take his play for granted. I mean, he averaged a triple-double for the last three or four years, and I’m pretty sure they see what he’s doing this year, but it’s still the same thing. I just love that he still just goes out and plays and handles his business and doesn’t worry about it.”

Russell Westbrook on the Rookie’s praise

Westbrook, the 2016-17 MVP and a nine-time All-Star didn’t disagree with Morant’s opinion. Westbrook dismissed the matter as any sort of concern.

“I don’t care what nobody else thinks about my game,” Westbrook said. “I appreciate guys like [Morant] and other guys, but as long as I’m OK and satisfied with what I bring to the table, I’m going to keep busting everybody’s ass.”

Westbrook delivered another impressive performance in the Houston Rockets’ 140-112 win over Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook was the catalyst behind Houston’s dominant win, finishing with a game-high 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting to go with nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals. James Harden scored 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

He has been dominating the games recently especially after the All-star break. He has averaged 34.0 points on 56.9% shooting in six games since the Rockets traded centre Clint Capela,

The Rockets have won five of those six games, the lone loss coming when Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic made a tightly contested, 29-foot buzzer-beater. Westbrook, who was 15-of-24 against the Grizzlies, has shot better than 50% from the field in all six games, the longest such streak of his career.

Due to the small-ball lineup, it is getting harder to guard him. It is one on one when Westbrook has the ball in his hands as there is no help. He is strong and explosive giving him an advantage in every possible matchup, especially against the bigs.