Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Sometimes, even the close-range shots don’t go down.
That was the case on Monday for Grizzlies franchise player Ja Morant, who consistently snaked his way through the Bulls’ defense, giving them fits with his shake-and-bake rhythm around the rim. But he often couldn’t make it count, shooting just 5-for-13 from inside the paint during the Memphis victory.