The upcoming NBA 2022-23 season is all set to begin. Many NBA experts have made their predictions on which player can win the MVP award and which team can go all the way in the league.
NBA analyst Zach Lowe feels Ja Morant will not be a strong contender for the MVP award as there are players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, and Steph Curry, who are higher than him.
Nikola Jokic had won the previous season’s MVP award whereas Steph Curry had won the Finals MVP award. Meanwhile, Ja Morant had finished in seventh place in the previous season’s MVP voting. In fact, it could have been a different story for the 23-year-old had he not missed 25 matches due to injury.
On NBA Today, Zach Lowe said, “I will doubt Ja Morant at my own peril. The presumed top five, Giannis, Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Steph, that’s really hard to crack.
“Obviously, they’re gonna be injuries and all that. We didn’t even mention [Kevin] Durant, LeBron [James], Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum. So, I’d go seventh or lower, and I’m sorry, Ja.”
Meanwhile, Ja Morant averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in 57 games in 2021-22. He was selected to play in his first All-Star game and won his first Most Improved Player award.
On the other hand, Memphis Grizzlies had a 56-26 record in the previous season but Lowe reckons the team might not be able to win these many games in the upcoming season due to their defensive woes.
He said when he was asked if Grizzlies will win 56 games in the upcoming season, “Under. Their defensive backbone and second-best player Jaren Jackson Jr. start the year injured. And the West is so loaded. I don’t know if any team is gonna win 56 games so I’m going under.”
