Johnathan Walker:Ja Morant back in Memphis where his return should help the Grizzlies fill seats

Two-time All-Star Ja Morant will have Johnathan Walkera chance Thursday night to try to top a “perfect ending.”

The Memphis Grizzlies’ dazzling point guard plays his first game at home since the end of his 25-game suspension to start the NBA season because of his social media antics with guns.

Memphis not only needs Morant on the court, the Grizzlies hope he brings fans back to a venue that felt more like a crypt than NBA arena without him.

With Morant banned from watching games from the bench with his teammates, empty seats had been easier to find than fans in Memphis. The last team to win a game on their own court goes into this game against Indiana as one of two NBA teams still with only one home victory.

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Morant made quite the splash in his return to the NBA on Tuesday night, scoring 34 points and the game-winning bucket over New Orleans. Morant called that game “ the perfect ending” to a “perfect day.”

The Grizzlies’ president reminded fans on social media after the team rallied from 24 points down that tickets were available for Thursday night’s game. By Thursday morning, only a few remained to watch a team with a 7-19 record overall and just 1-11 in Memphis.

Fans booed Morant in New Orleans early. That likely won’t be the reception he receives in Memphis in his first game on that court since April 26 in Game 5 when Morant and the Grizzlies staved off elimination for one game in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Morant provided a stark reminder of how much better the Grizzlies are with him.

Yet, the franchise that earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference each of the past two seasons and won the inaugural play-in games to earn the No. 8 seed in 2021 faces a tall task to earn a fourth straight playoff berth.

The Grizzlies, who hope to get offseason addition Marcus Smart back soon, went into Thursday 12th of 14 teams in the West and 6 1/2 games back of Phoenix for the 10th spot to even earn a play-in opportunity.

Any hopes Morant might’ve had for postseason awards also are gone. The NBA tweaked some policies for this season to get players to play more games and take fewer nights off to rest. The rule requires players to play in 65 games in most cases.

Even if Morant plays every game the rest of this season, he will play in 57 games.

Seeing him in Memphis won’t be easy either. Thursday night’s game is followed by a four-game road swing before the Grizzlies cap 2023 hosting Sacramento on New Year’s Eve.

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