Former Memphian Michael Eaves, who later referenced his time in town, opened up ESPN’s prime-time “SportsCenter,” reporting live from the court at FedExForum. He threw it to Adrian Wojnarowski, who standing somewhere else on the floor, then was joined by Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon and Jalen Rose.

That crew carried through the “NBA Countdown” pregame show, which included discussion of how bright the future of the Morant-era Grizzlies are, including beyond this season.

Rose made the point that Morant seems like the kind of star likely to stick around in the same city for a decade, making it easier to build around him. Smith cited the Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets as emerging powers in the West in the next few seasons. 

Later, on the pregame show, this quartet was joined by Jaren Jackson Jr. for a nice segment, talking about his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy, his fashion sense and his NBA player pops, whom Rose played against and Smith and Wilbon covered. 

If you’re looking for something to be mad about, and I really hope you’re not, the opening of the “NBA Today” broadcast from FedExForum might have supplied it. 

ESPN personalities Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Adrian Wojnarowski, Richard Jefferson, Chiney Ogwumike and Zach Lowe were all live from a perch at the western end of the arena, where the lobby gives way to the lower bowl, and the first segment of the show featured a little back-and-forth between Jefferson and Perkins, the latter of whom was credited with the push to come to Memphis. 

“Are you happy?” Andrews asked Perkins. 

“Yes, I’m very happy,” Perkins said. 

ESPN has been sprinkling in little bits of Grizzlies content during its programming throughout the day, leading up to a live-from-Memphis edition of its “NBA Today” show at 2 p.m., including a brief video segment from Tuesday’s Grizzlies practice, a segment on Ja Morant talking about his father and daughter, and more of the “film room” segment between Jalen Rose and Desmond Bane. 

The latter include a longer look at those “fly-by jumpers,” including one against the Lakers with Anthony Davis soaring by. They also took a look at Bane’s track-down block against the Wizards, which led to a Jaren Jackson Jr.-to-Morant fast-break alley-oop.

A little bit from the interview with Bane:

“First Take,” second segment, or at least second Grizzlies segment: Can Ja Morant be the next Allen Iverson?

This question is a bit of a sore subject for the in-Memphis Stephen A. Smith, now with the city skyline behind him, who covered the Answer up close, but props to in-studio shouter “Mad Dog” Russo for making a point that I made on “The Geoff Calkins Show” a couple of weeks back in response to the same question: Sure, but he shouldn’t really try to be.

That’s a paraphrase. What Russo really said is that Morant would be better than Iverson, which may end up being true, but we aren’t there yet. Iverson won an NBA MVP. Morant’s in an MVP race. Iverson won one game in the NBA Finals. Morant has won one game in the first round.

But still, as Russo points out, Morant’s a more efficient scorer and more of a team player on offense. 

Whew.

ESPN’s “All Access” day with the Grizzlies is underway and the shouting has begun. 

On “First Take,” star-of-show Stephen A. Smith beamed in from Memphis while co-hosts Molly Qerim and Chris Russo were in-studio back in New York. And Smith had a message for Memphis:

“Elvis is dead! He’s not coming back! … Ja Morant is here, and the bottom line is those are what the billboards need to be.”

Is this a good day to be the Memphis Grizzlies?

On the one hand, Ja Morant is out tonight against the Brooklyn Nets, missing his second straight game with what the team is calling knee soreness, which seems to have been spurred by a play late in the March 18 game in Atlanta, where Morant landed after a layup, came up limping and quickly exited the game and headed to the locker room.

On the other hand, Tuesday night’s results were good for the Grizzlies’ dual pursuits: Of the second seed in the West and of a draft pick in the upper half of the first round this summer. 

The Golden State Warriors lost in Orlando, increasing the Grizzlies’ cushion for the second seed to two games, with almost certainly a tiebreaker also in hand.