Mark Medina
LOS ANGELES – At first, Ja Morant couldn’t move his right hand. Then, he struggled to tie his shoes. Then, he failed to grip the ball.
All because Morant took a hard fall after Lakers forward Anthony Davis stopped him at the basket last week during the Memphis Grizzlies’ Game 1 loss of their first-round NBA playoff series. The issues became so serious that Morant missed Memphis’ Game 2 win over the Lakers three days later. Following three more days of treatment and rehab, the Grizzlies’ medical staff cleared Morant to play in Game 3. Just like that, Morant’s limitations dissipated.
“I never lack for confidence,” Morant said. “Once it was a go, I’m always confident.”
Morant showed that confidence throughout the Grizzlies’ 111-103 loss to the Lakers in Game 3 on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena. He finished with 45 points on 13-for-26 shooting and 13 assists, marking just two points shy of his playoff career high. Morant scored 22 consecutive points while Memphis made a fourth-quarter comeback. And Morant showed encouraging signs with his rhythm following his one-game absence.
“That boy’s good,” Lakers star LeBron James said, shaking his head afterwards. “He’s so good at attacking the rim that you want to try to keep bodies in front of him and make him try to work on the perimeter.”
That approach didn’t work. Morant shot efficiently from deep (6-for-10), near the basket (7-for-16) and at the free-throw line (13-for-14).
“Once he gets going on the outside,” James said, “he can do whatever he wants offensively.”
Morant didn’t exactly do everything he wanted. The Lakers have a 2-1 series lead entering Game 4 on Monday (10 pm ET, TNT). The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies in the first quarter (35-9). Dillon Brooks received an ejection for a flagrant foul 2 on James early in the third quarter after struggling with both his shot (seven points on 3-for-13 shooting) and the fan boos after dismissively calling the 38-year-old James “old” following Game 2.
Ja Morant’s encouraging signs
Yet, the Grizzlies reported feeling mostly encouraged about Game 3 because of how well Morant played.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins described Ja Morant’s performance as “great” for various reasons. Jenkins liked that Morant “was aggressive” despite the pain he still nurses with his right hand. Amid the Lakers’ heavy defensive attention on Morant, Jenkins liked that Morant still “shot it without any hesitation” to ensure balanced scoring at the rim, from behind the perimeter and at the free-throw line. After Morant participated in practice (Friday) and morning shootaround (Saturday), Jenkins observed that Morant “was playing with force and speed” in Game 3.
Morant plans to rev his engine into a higher gear in Game 4.
“I feel pretty good,” Morant said. “Obviously some of the stuff you just have to play through and tolerate. I love being out there for my team any chance I get, especially when we’re going to battle.”
Morant shared different sentiments about his body after using his right hand to soften his fall in Game 1.
Afterwards, Morant said he felt “in a good bit of pain” and already considered his Game 2 availability as “in jeopardy.” Though X-rays taken after Game 1 came back negative, an MRI taken the next day revealed Morant aggravated a soft tissue bruise in his right hand. He had originally injured his right hand during the Grizzlies’ win over Milwaukee on April 7.
The Grizzlies’ medical staff ruled Morant out for Game 2 after he struggled with completing a pre-game warmup while still nursing soreness and pain in his right hand.
“It’s tough not to be able to be out there,” Morant said. “I was trying. It’s not like I decided to sit on my own. I tried to come back at the end of Game 1, but I couldn’t move it.”
Ja Morant healed substantially enough through the next two days to complete a team practice (Friday) and morning shootaround (Saturday). Then, Morant completed various exercises to test his right hand’s durability and pain threshold, including dribbling, catching the ball and taking shots. He wore black tape around his hand, something he found didn’t negatively affect his ball handling or shooting.
“Once I’m out there, my adrenaline gets going,” Morant said. “That takes some of the pain away.”
So will a Grizzlies win, something that becomes more possible because of Morant’s return.
Mark Medina is an NBA Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
