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Why Ja Morant used Beyonce song to describe mood ahead of Grizzlies' last game before All-Star break

Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. were in an All-Star Game mood at the Memphis Grizzlies' shootaround Wednesday. Both had playlists for their flight to Salt Lake City, but while Jackson went with rapper Youngboy Never Broke Again, a team favorite, Morant was in an R&B mood.

Some of Morant's favorites? Jodeci. Pretty Ricky. Mariah Carey. Beyonce's latest single, "Cuff It," is his favorite song of the moment.

"I'm in a little space right now. Comfortable. Feeling good. Unbothered," Morant said.

If Morant picked a song by Carey, perhaps "Shake It Off" might work for him and the Grizzlies. While they enter the break in second place in the Western Conference, the team enters Wednesday's home game vs. the Utah Jazz (7 p.m., Bally Sports Southeast) having lost nine of their last 13 games.

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It's been the roughest stretch for the team in three seasons, and Morant acknowledged that the Grizzlies need time off to recalibrate.

"Just taking the time away from basketball and pretty much find something you love to do. So, you know, just reset," Morant said. "Throw the first half away and pretty much be ready to come back for the second half of the season. I feel like everybody needs a break and I feel like the league put the break at the right time for us."

The Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) screams with emotion after dunking the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game on Feb. 10, 2023 at the Fedex Forum in Memphis.
The Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) screams with emotion after dunking the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game on Feb. 10, 2023 at the Fedex Forum in Memphis.

After facing the Jazz, the Grizzlies won't play again until Feb. 23 at Philadelphia. Morant and Jackson will play in Sunday's All-Star Game but both were also ready to relax as well.

Morant admitted the season grind has been tiring so while the Grizzlies still have work to do, the break will be needed to shake things off and get right.

"You never know what somebody's going through mentally so that's big time for us," Morant said. "Just speaking for us as a team. Everybody's able to reset and then we come back, get us a practice and lock back in to the second half of the season and go back to playing our style of basketball and getting wins out there."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant uses Beyonce song to describe mood ahead of All-Star break