After a difficult loss Friday night to a Western Conference rival in which he did not play well and logged just under 31 minutes, Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant expressed his frustration while seeming to indicate a disagreement with his coaches.<\/p>\n
The Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 117-112 in Memphis behind Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s 44 points<\/a>. Morant scored eight points on 3-of-14 shooting while dishing out seven assists.<\/p>\n Morant was asked afterward<\/a>: \u201cWhat went wrong for you today?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo ask the coaching staff,\u201d Morant answered.<\/p>\n When he was then asked if there was anything he could have done differently, Morant responded, \u201cGo ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n By \u201chim,\u201d Morant appeared to be referring to Tuomas Iisalo, who is in his first full season as the Grizzlies\u2019 coach. Iisalo served as the team\u2019s interim head coach at the end of last season, following Taylor Jenkins\u2019 firing in late March.<\/p>\n Morant was asked whether he had his usual energy during the game. His response was, \u201cGo ask the coaching staff why.\u201d<\/p>\n Morant played 30 minutes, 58 seconds on Friday. Although he has appeared in all six of Memphis\u2019 games this season, he has not played more than 31 minutes, 33 seconds in any of them. He missed 32 games last season because of injuries or illness.<\/p>\n Morant, 26, is one of the NBA\u2019s fastest point guards and is known for his ability to drive to the basket. On Friday, however, he attempted only one shot in the restricted area, a cutting layup that he made with 7:21 remaining in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Morant\u2019s postgame interview did not last long. According to The Memphis Commercial Appeal, he was asked whether he had any other observations about the loss to the Lakers.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to them, probably don\u2019t play me, honestly,\u201d Morant said, seemingly referring to the coaches. \u201cThat\u2019s basically what the message was after.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if he has any injury or is sick, Morant responded that he is \u201cfine.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a reporter from The Daily Memphian<\/a>, Iisalo\u2019s postgame news conference took place at the same time as Morant\u2019s postgame question-and-answer session. Because the two sessions occurred concurrently, the media did not have the opportunity to follow up with Iisalo to ask him about Morant\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n Morant\u2019s media availability in the locker room coincided with head coach Tuomas Iisalo\u2019s press availability, which happened before an empty room, without media there to ask about what Morant had said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Herrington (@ChrisHerrington) November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The Lakers-Grizzlies game was broadcast nationally on Prime Video. After the game ended, studio commentator Blake Griffin spoke about Morant\u2019s seemingly disengaged performance.<\/p>\n