‘Off-the-court issues affected us…’: Ja Morant reacts after Memphis Grizzlies' disappointing NBA playoffs exit

Ja Morant is extremely disappointed after his team Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated from NBA playoffs round one on Friday. Grizzlies lost the series 4-2 after they got surpassed by Los Angeles Lakers 85-125 in game 6. Morant finished with 10 points, five rebounds and six assists in the match.

In an interaction with media, Morant has highlighted that off-the-court issues took a toll on the team's performance. He talked about the importance of being disciplined and vowed to be better with his decision-making.

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"I've just got to be better with my decision-making. That's pretty much it. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just [need] more discipline," said Morant as quoted by ESPN.

"I feel like mine is more off the court and on the court -- just being disciplined both sides. Off the court, making better decisions. On the court, being locked in even more. Being a leader of this team, it pretty much starts with me. So however I attack any situation, I know my guys will follow. I've just got to be better in that area," he added.

Notably, Morant had received an eight-game suspension in March for displaying a handgun during an Instagram Live session from a Denver-area strip club. And in January, Morant was investigated for allegations by Indiana Pacers that a red laser, which they believed to be from a gun, was directed at them from a vehicle in which the Grizzlies star was travelling.

Among other off-court issues, Morant was alleged to have assaulted a high school boy during a pickup game in his backyard. In another incident, Morant and his friends were accused of threatening a mall security guard after Morant's mother felt insulted by a shoe store employee.

Meanwhile, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins called the elimination a wake-up call and highlighted the importance of discipline on and off the court. He said "I think we have a great culture, and your culture's going to get tested. I mean, there's going to be opportunities that are going to see how strong you are, how together you are, how resilient you are, how disciplined you are. And then are you really building something day in and day out to ultimately try to win a championship. It doesn't happen overnight. Nothing is going to be a straight line."

"In my opinion, this is probably that moment in time that's going to be the ultimate wake-up call. Are we going to really understand that it's the preparation and the offseason, the preparation in the season? It's what you do at work, off the court -- clearly, there are things that we've got to control and just embrace it together. How are we going to support each other throughout all this stuff? This is a journey that you go through from the start of the season to the end of the season, and it's not supposed to be easy, any of it. So are we going to take it lightly and take it for granted or we going to take a real hard look at the mirror?," he added.

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