Morant injury provides major hurdle for Grizzlies in play-in finale
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Star guard Ja Morant rolled his ankle after sinking a floater in the third quarter as the Memphis Grizzlies were attempting to mount a comeback against the Golden State Warriors in an NBA play-in tournament game on Tuesday.
That shot and the ensuing free throw put the Grizzlies within one, but the game slipped away from them in the fourth as Morant was severely hobbled.
Morant, who averaged 23.2 points and 7.3 assists per game in 50 games this season, left the game with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter and returned at the 9:26 mark in the fourth.
Now the lingering effects of the injury loom over their play-in game on Friday against the winner of Wednesday's game between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
“I’m playing [Friday]. That’s basically the answer I’m giving,” Morant said to reporters after Tuesday's 121-116 loss. “It ain’t nothing different.”
What kind of impact will Morant have if he is limited by the injury is the main question facing the Grizzlies now.
Morant finished the first half with 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting, but only attempted five shots in the second half in limited minutes and chipped in only seven points.
With possession and 5.4 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies needed three points to tie it to potentially force overtime. Morant couldn't shake free from his defender in a hobbled state, and the Grizzlies could not find a target for an inbounds pass before taking a five-second violation and surrendering possession.
“It’s tough. This one definitely hurts,” said Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, who had 30 points in the loss. “You never want to be in a situation where you lose a game and your season is over. It definitely hurts, but we’ve got to flip the page and get ready for our next opponent.”
It's a continuation of a steady fall for the Grizzlies, who fired head coach Taylor Jenkins on March 28 while sitting fifth in the Western Conference. From there, the team went 4-5 to end the season and slide all the way to eighth, which has put them in a position to fight for their playoff lives in the play-in games.
The struggle has worn on some players, including third-year guard Scotty Pippen Jr.
“It’s just frustrating because of how far we fell,” Pippen Jr. said to reporters after Tuesday's game. “I wouldn’t say we were confident in where we were at, but the fall has been pretty hard on the team. ... [Making the playoffs is] definitely doable, but we put ourselves in this spot.”
Memphis took three of four from the Mavericks in their regular-season series this season, while they only beat the Kings once in three tries.