2022 NBA MVP odds: Grizzlies' Ja Morant closes gap with spectacular 2-game showcase, finally on national TV Thursday vs. Celtics

It's no longer up for debate: The most electric player in the NBA is Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, a title he has officially been bestowed with thanks to a two-game stretch of spectacular plays and a combined 98 points in wins over Chicago and San Antonio. Can Morant still win regular-season MVP? His odds have shortened to +1200 at Caesars Sportsbook, still well behind leader Joel Embiid of the 76ers (+110). At the start of the season, Morant was +5000.

Morant had a career-high 46 points on Saturday in Chicago but then he had maybe the signature game of the NBA season Monday with a new career-high of 52 points, the dunk of the year over 7-foot Spurs center Jakob Poeltl as well as an impossible circus shot off a full-court pass at the second-quarter buzzer. Morant added 13 consecutive points during the fourth quarter to break the game open.

The 22-year-old Morant, who also had a 44-point game right before the All-Star break, became the fifth-youngest player all-time with three 40-point games in four-game span behind Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Walt Bellamy – Iverson being the youngest. The last player to set a franchise record for points in back-to-back games was Tony Campbell for the Timberwolves in 1989, that team's third and fourth games ever.

If Morant played for the Knicks, Lakers, Bulls, etc., instead of the Grizzlies, who are rarely seen on national TV, he might be the MVP favorite instead of behind Embiid (+110), Nikola Jokic (+225), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+550) and DeMar DeRozan (+1000).

Memphis has the third-best record in the NBA and could soon pass Golden State for No. 2, yet the Grizzlies are still +2500 long shots to win their first NBA title and +1100 fourth favorites in the West.

Great news for NBA fans who don't have League Pass: Memphis is on national TV Thursday (TNT) at Boston. 

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