Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins says that star Ja Morant is undergoing an MRI and X-ray on his sore right knee, according to Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
“They’re doing that right now. Right now, it’s soreness. That’s what he’s feeling. So they’re diving in … to see what’s actually going on and what course of action needs to be taken,” Jenkins said, per Giannotto.
As Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian observes (video link), Morant apparently suffered the injury on a drive late in the fourth quarter of Memphis’ loss to Atlanta last Friday. At the very least, he’s out Wednesday against the Nets.
Strangely, this is the second knee injury Morant has had against Atlanta this season. At the end of November, Morant sustained a left knee sprain against the Hawks that sidelined him for 12 games.
Hopefully the injury is nothing serious, as Morant is in the midst of a breakout campaign for the Grizzlies, who currently hold a 49-23 record, good for the No. 2 seed in the West. Morant, who was named an All-Star for the first time this season, will be in the conversation for a few other awards, including MVP, All-NBA and Most Improved Player.
Through 56 games, Morant is averaging 27.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 6.7 APG and 1.2 SPG on .493/.340/.762 shooting. With the star point guard sidelined, backups Tyus Jones and De’Anthony Melton should see an uptick in minutes.
His playing style seems to be highly conducive to this sort of thing, hopefully he can get back soon & perhaps get a notch down on his playing style so he can be more durable, as he has missed a lot of games this year, way too many to be counted for those awards mentioned in the article!
Earlier in the season the Grizzlies won 11 straight sans Morant. The reason why he’s playing this way is to compensate for a lack of 3pt shooting ability. Moreover, his play style is hurting his team. He’s a ball heavy PG who hogs possessions in order to pad his stats. Logic dictates that a team’s most proficient 3pt shooter should have the lion’s share of the shots. For example, Ja scored 38 against the Celtics and his team lost.