M-V-PIECE OF THE PIE 

Ja Morant wasn’t merely being facetious a few months back when while referencing Michael Jordan’s era, he dauntlessly said, “I would’ve cooked him.”

Earlier this week, the Memphis Grizzlies superstar once again wasn’t kidding around when during a national television appearance, he issued yet another bold declaration.

“MVP for sure,” the 23-year-old Morant told ESPN NBA Today host Malika Andrews, when asked what personal goals he’s setting for this season.

Following the Mavericks’ practice and film session Friday afternoon, no one in Dallas’ camp was surprised by the latest fearless affirmation uttered by Morant, whose Grizzlies (1-0) will square off against the Mavericks (0-1) Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CST at the American Airlines Center.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić told reporters, when asked has Morant emerged as an MVP-caliber player following a memorable campaign in which he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. “It’s always great to go against a player like that.”

Dončić whom, according to a host of league executives, has been dubbed this year’s favorite to win MVP, said fans should expect a show when he and Morant take the court for the first of four regular season meetings between Memphis and Dallas.

901 MISSION MANE 

“It’ll be good for the fans to see,” Dončić said. “He’s a really good player and he’s going to be hard to stop.”

That was evident in Memphis’ season-opening 115-112 overtime win against the visiting New York Knicks Tuesday night.

Showing virtually no signs of rust after last year’s masterful display in which he helped propel the Grizzlies to the NBA’s second-best record (56-26), Morant put on his usual electrifying show in front of a FedExForum crowd. The former Murray State star finished with a game-high 34-points on 11-of-14 shooting, nine assists, and four rebounds in 38 minutes to help Memphis escape after squandering a 15-point third-quarter advantage.

Like Morant, Dončić was as good as advertised in the Mavericks’ season-opener, although Dallas blew a 22-point lead and fell, 107-105, at Phoenix.

Dončić, in fact, demonstrated why he’s the odds-on favorite to win the MVP award, scoring 20 of his game-best 35 points before intermission against a Suns team the Mavs upset last year in the Western Conference Finals.

“All eyes will be on him, so we’ve got to figure out how to slow him down. He’s an All-Star.” — Mavericks coach Jason Kidd on Dallas facing Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant

While Morant has gone public about the idea of winning the NBA’s most covenant individual award, Dončić, meanwhile, seems to have constructed his own blueprint for acquiring the hardware he’s favored to possess at season’s end.

“I’m really appreciative of everyone’s opinions,” Dončić said of the preseason honor in which he has been installed as a +450 odds to emerge as the NBA MVP award winner, followed by Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid at +650, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo at +750, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant +1000, and Denver’s Nikola Jokic +1100. “But first, we’ve got to win games for me to be mentioned for consideration.”

Although Morant technically hasn’t been mentioned as a candidate for MVP, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd suggested, among other things, that no one should count out the Grizzlies’ franchise player.

Or, in Morant’s case, someone who’s bold enough to call out MJ.

“It’s about winning, and he has the ability and the team to that,” said Kidd, when asked what he thought of Morant acknowledging his individual goal. “He’s all about winning. We you see someone like that win Most Improved (Player) — and he felt his teammates should have gotten that award — that’s who Ja is. It’s about the team and it’s about winning.”

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Saturday’s game between Memphis and Dallas undoubtedly will be no exception, said Kidd, who expects Morant to prove he belongs in the MVP discussion along with Dončić, the Mavs’ franchise player who finished fifth in the MVP voting last year.

“He’s special,” Kidd said of Morant. “Ja puts a lot of pressure on your defense and understand, you’ve got to take care of the basketball because they are one of the fastest teams in the league. All eyes will be on him, so we’ve got to figure out how to slow him down. He’s an All-Star.”

One who entered his fourth NBA season harboring a lofty, a rather courageous admission he uttered before a nationally-televised audience a few days ago.

“He’s talked about winning MVP,” Kidd said of Morant. “He’s on a really good team, has a great coach (Taylor Jenkins) over there. So again, we’ve got to try to make it tough on him.”

Stay tuned.

Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder/Publisher & Editor In Chief of Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson has covered the National Basketball Association since 2010. To reach Johnson, call him at 901-690-6587 or send email to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.