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Ja Morant doesn't care how his "I'm fine in the West" remark earlier this season backfired on the Memphis Grizzlies. Morant took full responsibility on the team's failure to get out of the first round of the playoffs against the LA Lakers.
In his postgame interview, Morant explained that his off-the-court issues affected the Grizzlies for the rest of the campaign. The NBA suspended Morant for eight games back in March for conduct detrimental to the league.
"I just got to be better with my decision-making," Morant said. "That's pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much, just more disciplined. ... I feel like mine is more off the court and on the court, being disciplined on both sides.
"Off the court, making better decisions. On the court, being locked in even more. Being a leader of this team pretty much start with me, so however I attack any situation, I know my guys will follow, so I just got to be better in that area."
Morant was also asked about his "I'm fine in the West" comments and if he regrets saying it.
"I don't mind," Morant answered. "I don't care. I said it. I'll deal with it."
What did Ja Morant said about the Grizzlies in the West?
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies was very confident early in the season. Morant sat down with ESPN's Malika Andrews back in December to discuss several topics such as the Golden State Warriors, the Grizzlies' success, and his family.
When Andrews asked Morant about their competition for a championship this season, he revealed that he was only worried about one team from the East. Andrews followed up if he wasn't concerned about any team out West.
Here's how the viral conversation went down:
Malika Andrews: "Who do you look at around the league as you're studying and say, 'We're gonna have to run through them?'"
Ja Morant: "The Celtics"
MA: "No one in the West?"
JM: "Nah, I'm fine in the West."
Ja Morant struggles in blowout loss
Ja Morant had a bad shooting night in the Memphis Grizzlies' Game 6 loss to the LA Lakers. Morant only had 10 points in 34 minutes, shooting 3-for-15 from the floor. It was his worst game of the series as the Lakers got the 125-85 win.
The 23-year-old guard was still dealing with an injury to his shooting hand. He entered the playoffs nursing the injury before re-aggravating it twice in the series against LA. With Memphis having a longer offseason, he will have a lot of time to fully recover from the injury.
