Despite their five-point win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies find themselves in a less-than-enviable position. Said win came with the Nets resting both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. It also resulted in a narrow five-point victory for Memphis.
More than that, the Grizzlies are now going to be without their best player and the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year for the next several weeks. Ja Morant suffered an ugly-looking leg injury in the second quarter of Monday’s game. He had to be helped off the court by a wheelchair before returning to the bench with a walking boot on.
We now have more information on the Ja Morant injury. While it’s not as severe as we first believed when the injury itself took place, the star guard will miss a considerable amount of time.
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Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant out 3-5 weeks with sprained ankle
“In Monday’s game against the Nets, Ja Morant exited late in the second quarter after contesting a field goal attempt of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and landing on Luwawu-Cabarrot’s foot. Further imaging revealed a Grade 2 ankle sprain, with an expected recovery time of 3-5 weeks,” the Grizzlies announced, via their official website.”
To say that this is a big loss would be an understatement. Ja Morant averaged 36 points per game in his first two outings prior to leaving Monday’s game with an injury. The former No. 2 pick was the unquestioned NBA Rookie of the Year last season, averaging 17.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists on a stellar 48% shooting from the field.
For the Grizzlies, the Ja Morant injury is even more devastating with fellow stud youngster Jaren Jackson Jr. still sidelined after suffering a knee injury during the NBA restart in Orlando last season.
Memphis is already pretty much in full-scale rebuild mode with Morant and Jackson leading the way. Being without their star guard for up to the next five weeks during what is a truncated 72-game season is not a great thing.
With Ja Morant out of action, the Grizzlies are going to have a hard time finding someone to score. Dillon Brooks is their second-leading scorer through three games at 19.7 points per.
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