Morant will miss time
Grizzlies’ star will be out 3-5 weeks after suffering an ankle injury in Monday’s win at Brooklyn.
The initial image was horrifying, and the subsequent updates only felt slightly less terrifying with time.
Ja Morant hopped on his right foot 12 times just as soon as his left ankle rolled in an unsightly direction, from the court to the baseline to the area leading to the tunnel at the Barclays Center on Monday night, before collapsing to the floor.
As he writhed in pain on the ground, the minds of Memphis Grizzlies fans everywhere leapt to any number of bad conclusions. When he had to be taken to the locker room in a wheelchair, hunched over and taking deep breaths to combat the physical trauma, our worst fears seemed to be realized.
Not Morant. Anyone but Morant. Anything but another gut punch to close out a year that's featured body blow after body blow.
“It was sad,” Jonas Valanciunas said. “It was scary.”
Sounds like everyone's 2020, the year that just needs to end. If not for our health, then at least for the sake of
the city's basketball scene.
Most of the area high school basketball teams can't play this winter due to the pandemic. Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers, on their third offense in about two weeks and resorting to king of the jungle reference to describe this latest scheme, are still finding their way after a discouraging start.
And now the biggest star of all in this city, the one who gave Memphis so much joy since arriving here last season, was in a wheelchair. Now, this once-promising Grizzlies season is beginning to feel more and more like an unfortunate detour in the franchise's rebuild.
Consider this image: The team's budding superstar (Morant), his budding super-sidekick (Jaren Jackson Jr.) and their newest toy that's yet to be taken out of the box (Justise Winslow) all relegated to the bench together wearing different colored hoodies because of injuries during the second half Wednesday night.
The trajectory of the entire season, and the future of the organization, sat in those chairs.
So there appear to be tough days immediately ahead for these Grizzlies. More tough days than last season, even if Morant and Jackson are still on track to be the long-term answer for Memphis. Just like there are tough days ahead for us in this battle with COVID-19 after 2020 is over, even though the long-awaited vaccines are being distributed.
But there is light, for us and for Morant. X-rays conducted revealed no fracture, according to the Grizzlies television broadcast. The team announced Tuesday Morant will miss 3-5 weeks with a Grade 2 ankle sprain.
“I know he's going to bounce back and be fine,” coach Taylor Jenkins said. Hopefully, he's right.
It just might be awhile until the Grizzlies are at full strength again. It might be too long for them to make another playoff push like they did a year ago. It might not be all bad because the 2021 NBA Draft is expected to be particularly strong.
Nonetheless, this image – of Morant laying prone, unable to get up because his left ankle bent like no left ankle should bend – was an unsettling reminder of how fragile this whole endeavor can be. How the random nature of injuries can foil even the best-laid plans in the NBA.
This didn't even happen on one of those mad dashes to the rim that makes you hold your breath, delighted and petrified all at once because Morant is flying through the air like no other point guard can, and sometimes crashing in a manner no other point guard does. This was just a fluke. Morant contested a shot and landed on the foot of Nets wing Timothe Luwawu-cabbarot.
“A moment like that can really test you,” Jenkins said.
So add the Grizzlies to the ridiculously long list of people, places and things that have gotten tests they weren't expecting in 2020.
The good news is that the sickening image of a helpless Morant eventually gave way to a more hopeful one.
Morant returned to the bench for the fourth quarter wearing a boot on that injured left ankle. He seemed in good spirits, standing and celebrating as his short-handed teammates scratched out a 116-111 overtime win against the short-handed Nets, who played without their two superstars (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving).
Kyle Anderson had the best game of his professional career and Dillon Brooks was a shot-making pest. Brandon Clarke and Valanciunas emerged from early-season funks, and then scored the decisive baskets in overtime.
"The first one's the hardest," Valanciunas tweeted in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. "This one's for Ja."
And perhaps there's a lesson within those words we can all relate to as this fight against COVID-19 extends into 2021.
On a gut punch of a Wednesday night, the Grizzlies punched back. So can we.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto