Ja Morant is back and has Brook Lopez turned around. It’s November, and the electric point guard is leading the fast break in the third quarter against a porous Milwaukee Bucks transition defense. The slow-footed Lopez is the only obstacle between Morant and a thunderous finish at the basket. With Morant going downhill, this is a viral moment waiting to happen.

But instead of jetting through Lopez for a rim-rocking dunk, Morant does something unexpected. He slams on the brakes and pulls up for a 3-pointer, missing badly off the far side of the rim.

Morant didn’t dunk on that possession. Which, surprisingly, has been commonplace for the 25-year-old phenom.

This season, Morant hasn’t dunked at all. In eight games, Morant has not completed a single dunk, missing both of his attempts (including this all-time blooper). Coming back from shoulder surgery, his dunk-attempt rate is a sliver of what it used to be. His 360 layups are a thing of beauty, but dunk...