Last year was twice as deadly as 2020 for Covid-19 in Shelby County.
In 2020, 903 died of Covid here. In 2021, 1,807 passed from the virus in Shelby County, according to state data.
In total, 2,710 have died of Covid here from April 2020 to the end of December 2021.
As Monday came to an end, one can only imagine that Ja Morant said, in the words of Ice Cube, “Today was a good day.”
First, on Monday afternoon, the league announced that Grizzlies guard had been named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week. This is Morant’s first time being honored as player of the week, and the 11th overall for the team.
The Murray State standout tallied 34.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.33 steals during three straight victories from December 27 to January 2, 2022, while shooting 55.7 percent from the field (39-70 FG) and 80.0 percent from 3-point range (12-15 3P).
Then on Monday night, Morant solidified himself as one of the NBA’s superstars as he put on a masterclass against Brooklyn with 36 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. He messed around and almost got a triple-double as I can hear him say, “Today was a good day.” It was the fourth time in as many games that Morant had scored 30 or more points, which set a new team record.
The 22-year-old even received MVP chants in Barclays Center as he was at the line shooting free throws. Morant led Memphis to their fifth straight victory, knocking off the Nets 118-104 as the Grizzlies moved to 24-14 on the season.
After the game, Kevin Durant had nice words to say about Morant. “He’s just controlling the game. Always been an efficient player who can run the point guard spot,” Durant said.
“He’s developed into a major scorer as well,” Durant added. “He just plays at a great pace out there — plays with joy and enthusiasm. You see him blossom in front of our eyes. Since college he’s been on this trajectory. As a basketball fan you can’t wait to see what it’s like years going forward.”
“He’s special,” Desmond Bane said about Morant. “People are debating whether or not he should be an All-Star. I think we should be debating whether he’s the best point guard in the league. I don’t think it’s any question if he’s an All-Star. The real conversation is, ‘Is he the best point guard in the league?’” Bane finished the night with 29 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins wholeheartedly believes Morant is an All-Star. “I have come out and said he’s absolutely an All-Star,” Jenkins said. “But I think the follow-up to that is that he should be because he impacts winning with his style of play. It’s whatever his teammates need, it’s multiple assists, the rebounding and taking on defensive assignments. Then, obviously, there’s the scoring ability. It comes in the paint, from the free-throw line and the 3-point line. His decision making is just constantly getting better game after game.”
“With a performance like that, like I’ve said before, all he cares about is winning, let’s keep winning. Obviously, he’s a huge piece to us winning. He empowers his teammates.”
When asked about the All-Star talk, Morant said, “I really don’t focus on it too much, honestly. Everybody who knows me, including my teammates, people throughout the organization know I’m a very humble guy, but I’m also confident.
“So I’m gonna let my teammates continue to talk for me,” he added. I’m gonna just go out there and do what I can on the floor to help prove their case right even more.”
As for the MVP chants inside the Barclays Center, Morant was appreciative. He said, “It was surreal, obviously something I’ve been working for and to prove that I’m one of the top players in this league and my play as of late helping me with that and obviously giving me a lot more recognition from our fans to away fans.” He has heard multiple MVP chants at the FedExForum.
Morant continued, “But to hear MVP chants on the road is different. It’s probably people who are rooting for the home team at a time, but still showing me love and respect — it’s big time; obviously, something I work for though. I just have to continue to work, go out there and play my game on the floor and do whatever I can to help my team win. That’s pretty much my main goal.”
For Morant, statistics, honors, and recognition mean nothing until they lead to wins for his team.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Morant should be heading to Cleveland for his first career NBA All-Star selection next month.
Meet Dolphin Man. He’s a new hero for the new year, and the subject of the first single from Jeremy Scott’s new album Bear Grease. Scott will be spending some of 2022 on the road as the bassist for Reigning Sound. But he’s also got an extensive solo catalog, as the leader of the power pop revivalists Toy Trucks, and now his new self-titled solo project, which features Scott on guitar, bass, and vocals, and Graham Burks on everything else.
“Fred Neil Armstrong” is about everyone’s favorite cetacean invading dry land. The video, directed by Aquarian Blood’s J.B. Horrell, stars Lauren Goller as Dolphin Man, having adventures among the legged. The best part is when Dolphin Man tries on the octopus hat. But don’t take my word for it. Dive in!
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
Penny Hardaway was in a dark place, and visibly, during his postgame press conference on December 10th. The basketball coach had just witnessed his Memphis Tigers’ fourth consecutive loss, to Murray State, in what should be a place of comfort, FedExForum. I asked Hardaway if he’d ever felt so low in his basketball life.
“There’s so much going on in our country,” he replied, after shaking his head. “Four losses in a row is devastating, but it’s not life and death. My faith in God; I understand what’s going on. We have to weather a storm. I’ve never been here, but I know I’m a fighter, and I’ll figure it out.” When “life and death” are mentioned — with allusion to the ongoing pandemic — during a discussion about a basketball game . . . it’s a dark place.
Just four days later, the Tigers played 40 minutes of furious basketball and upset the 6th-ranked team in the country, the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was the program’s first win over top-10 competition since March 2014 and the biggest victory in Hardaway’s four seasons as a college coach.
Four days after the big win, though, with fans already in the stands at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the Tigers’ much-anticipated clash with Tennessee was cancelled when Landers Nolley and Tyler Harris tested positive for Covid-19. Making matters worse, we learned the majority of Hardaway’s roster had not been vaccinated. By the time the Tigers returned to play on December 29th at Tulane, two starters (Jalen Duren and DeAndre Williams) were sidelined for Covid protocols along with a third (Emoni Bates) with a hand injury. Memphis lost (by a single point) to the Green Wave, a team that will not finish in the top half of the American Athletic Conference standings.
It’s been that kind of season so far for a Tiger team now 1-1 in AAC play after an impressive win at Wichita State on New Year’s Day. A league championship (regular season or tournament) is all but required for a berth in the NCAA tournament. Can a seven-year Big Dance drought be boxed up and left for the history books? Or will the 2021-22 Tigers become chapter eight in an “era” no Memphis fan will celebrate years from now?
Three observations for the Tigers’ two-month push for national relevance:
• Memphis is best when Hardaway squeezes the rotation. Seven players absorbed 91 percent of the minutes in the upset of Alabama. Those seven players: Alex Lomax, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley, Tyler Harris, Bates, Duren, and Williams. Much was made about the depth of the Memphis roster entering the season. Hardaway has a pair of players — Johnathan Lawson and Sam Onu — redshirting this season that could start for other AAC programs. But a basketball team must play as a unit to perform at optimum capacity. We saw a strong, seven-man unit beat the Crimson Tide by 14 points. To try and force nine or ten players into that “unit” . . . it’s impossible.
• Minutes for Minott. Freshman forward Josh Minott made virtually no impact in the win over Alabama (two points in four minutes of playing time). But in hockey terms, Minott was one of the Tigers’ three stars (along with Duren and Williams) in the victory over Wichita State: 15 points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals in just 19 minutes. Minott gained playing time against the Shockers by virtue of Lomax sitting out with an ankle injury. When Lomax returns, Minott must remain a sixth (or seventh) man. He brings too much for peripheral status.
• No more second-tier surprises. The loss at Tulane and the win at Wichita State might each be considered surprise results, so they’re a wash. But the Tigers cannot afford to lose any more games against lesser competition, and there’s a lot of lesser competition on the AAC schedule. The league favorite, Houston, is down a pair of rotation players. Cincinnati comes to FedExForum this Sunday for a nationally televised showdown. A conference championship is there for the taking. The kind of accomplishment that turns darkness into light.