Heading into their first-round NBA playoff series against the seventh-seed Los Angeles Lakers, Ja Morant and the second-seed Memphis Grizzlies had to feel optimistic about their chances on Sunday at FedEx Forum.
That positive feeling quickly took a hit with 5:48 remaining in the fourth quarter when Morant suffered a hard fall, landing on his shooting hand and, more accurately, his fingers. To no surprise, Morant had to leave the game.
It happened when Morant skied for a layup/dunk attempt as Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis stepped in his path. Morant collided with Davis in mid-air, falling directly to the floor, where he had no choice but to try and brace his fall with his hands.
This came with the Grizzlies trailing the Lakers 105-101. Clearly, Morant’s absence had a large impact on the game, as the Lakers would go on a 23-11 scoring run, winning 128-112 to steal Game 1 on the road.
While he luckily avoided anything more serious, Morant’s right hand may have suffered an injury in the process. Morant did go back to the locker room, but he eventually returned to the sideline with his Grizzlies teammates with a heavily bandaged right hand. His status remains unclear.
Backup Tyus Jones, who has led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio each of the past six seasons, took over for Morant at point guard. While Jones is plenty capable, the Grizzlies don’t want to be without their franchise cornerstone for long.
Yet, even Morant admitted his playing status for Game 2 was “in jeopardy” following the team’s loss. The Grizzlies do have a bit of time off, with their next matchup set for 7:30 PM ET on Wednesday night. We’ll see if Morant can join his teammates by then, depending on the severity of his injury.
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