The Opening Tip

• Grant Williams joined the choke-job Hall of Fame last night
• Knicks fans are emerging from their cocoon of misery
• The weirdest rumor in the NBA might have some truth to it

1. We have revised our Ja rankings

As the most influential NBA newsletter in the world, we must hold ourselves accountable. That’s why, after ranking Ja Morant our No. 1 Ja in our December, 2021 ‘People or animals named Ja, ranked’ segment, we are issuing an apology and a reranking. 

First, our apology: At the time of our first Ja rankings, we were unaware that Ja Morant would go on to beat up a 17-year-old; beat up a mall security guard; have his crew pretend to focus a gun on a bunch of Indiana Pacers; and generally wave his piece around like Frank in Always Sunny. So, we’re sorry.

Second, our reranking: 

• 3. Ja Morant
• 2. Ja Rule, who debuted at No. 3 in our first ranking
• 1. Ja Raffe, the giraffe in the Memphis Zoo who was named after Ja Morant, before the bad stuff

Any questions/concerns/rebuttals about our list can be heard here.

[READ: Ja Morant away from team indefinitely]

2. Daily GIF: “I’ll make them both”

Narrator: He missed both, then the Celtics played their third OT period in 24 hours and lost their second OT game in 24 hours.

3. Trivia time

The Kings are on the brink of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Who was the leading scorer on that team?

Answer at the bottom.

4. Knicks fan vibe check

A staple of The Grip throughout the years has been ragging on the Knicks and, more specifically, prodding our Knicks fan friends to talk about their misery for content, so it’s only right we give them the floor when the team is good.

New York has won nine in a row and is firmly in the fifth seed in the East. Our latest Knicks fan vibe check … 

… ranged from vulgar:
 

To optimistic:
 

To abstract:
 

Ok, that’s enough.

[READ: Wait, the New York Knicks are good? I think I need to sit down]

5. Would James Harden actually go back to Houston?

The James Harden to Houston buzz, however bewildering it may sound, is now impossible to ignore. 

It started on Christmas and felt like a bad-faith leverage play, but it isn't going away. 

In an Athletic report last week:
 

And last week from Bill Simmons, who does actually know stuff:
 

Reminder: Houston's 15-49, likely has no future superstars on its current roster, and has numerous times brought its head coach to tears, but if the allure of strip club culture and no state income tax is that strong, who are we to judge. 

[READ: Harden, Houston and an undeniable bond]

6.  Quick Hits

• LeBron put on a clinic last night on Twitter on how to make people hate your child. 
• The Kings are a half-game back of the two seed in the West. 
• Joel Embiid vs. the Pacers on Monday: 42 points on 16 shots
• Donovan Mitchell had a slick poster on Mike Muscala last night. 
• The league took away Giannis’ final cheeky rebound on Sunday, which at the time gave him a triple-double. 
• Alabama’s Brandon Miller won SEC Player of the Year yesterday despite having clear ties to a murder in January.

7.  Reads & Pods

• Ja Morant acted like a petulant child the Grizzlies couldn't ignore [Memphis Commercial Appeal]
• The clock is already ticking for the Mavericks with Kyrie Irving [The Ringer]

Trivia answer: Mike Bibby