Grizzlies’ star guard Morant will be out for 3-5 weeks with ankle injury
Ja Morant's ankle injury was the latest blow to the Grizzlies in a season not only a week old. Now they'll be without their star at least through the middle of January.
The Grizzlies announced Tuesday that Morant will be sidelined 3-5 weeks after suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain in Monday's 116-11 overtime win at the Brooklyn Nets. Morant left the game in the second quarter and did not return.
The NBA'S reigning Rookie of the Year wrote on Twitter after the news, sharing both the optimism and sadness following his first significant injury.
"I know God is working, so i smile #dagetback," Morant's first tweet read before following it up with "dis one hurt ngl,", short for "not gonna lie."
The earliest he could return is Jan.
20 when the Grizzlies travel for a twogame series at Portland. If he is out five weeks that could be until Feb. 2 at Indiana or Feb. 4 at home against Houston.
Morant could miss between 11-18 games, a sizable chunk in a 72-game season. But the Grizzlies (1-2) will be cautious with their franchise point guard.
The team hasn't announced a timeline for Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow's return from injury. Coach Taylor Jenkins said this month the team didn't want to set a return date, and general manager Zach Kleiman reiterated that Winslow could return sooner than Jackson.
The same patience will apply to Morant, who averaged 26.3 points and 6.3 assists in three games. In his second season, the team leaned even more on him to be their offensive catalyst.
Morant's usage rate - or percentage of team plays he's involved in that lead to a shot, free throw attempt or turnover - is 34.3%. That's up from 25.6% last season and third in the league behind Luka Doncic and Bradley Beal.
The Grizzlies scored 26 more points per 100 possessions with Morant on the court than off it per Cleaning the Glass. They're also shooting 39.5% from the field without Morant on the floor compared to 48.5% with him on it.
But more than numbers, Morant's injury halts the promise of an improved 2020-21 season. There's less room for error in a shorter season.
The Grizzlies' upcoming games won't be easy, either. They continue their road trip Wednesday against the Boston Celtics before facing the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. They return to Fedexforum for a four-game homestand starting Sunday with two games against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tyus Jones likely moves into the starting lineup as he did for the second half Monday. He and Kyle Anderson could share point guard duties because De'anthony Melton isn't with the team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Anderson has been arguably the team's second-best player so far after scoring at least 20 points in consecutive games. He had a career-high 28 points Monday against the Nets.
Dillon Brooks added 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas opened the season with double-doubles in all three games. But it's going to take more of that consistency picking up the load Morant carried.
"With Ja going out, I'm going to have to step it up, Kyle's gotta step it up," Brooks said Monday. "The next night, Tyus has to step it up. We got guys that are ready to play and hungry to play."
For the Grizzlies' sake, they hope so. Last January saw them push to the No. 8 seed in the West, which they held through the NBA restart in Orlando.
This January will perhaps see the opposite until reinforcements get healthier. Until then, they'll just push on and hang on to the words Morant sent in his third tweet.
Back soon.