In a battle of “which one of these teams is more injured,” the Memphis Grizzlies just scored another point.
This time it was star guard Ja Morant who went down, exiting a road tilt against the also hobbled New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Morant took a hard screen from Pelican’s centre Daniel Theis midway through the third quarter, and after spilling onto the floor, was seen writhing in pain while tapping on his right shoulder. Theis was whistled for an illegal screen on the play and Morant left the ball game.
The two-time All-Star had 25 points, two rebounds, seven assists and one steal while shooting eight-of-11 from the field and three-of-four from distance through 25 minutes before heading to the locker room
Memphis updated Morant’s status minutes after his exit, listing him as doubtful to return with a right shoulder sprain.
The Grizzlies already lead the NBA in man-games lost this season, right above the Pelicans as both teams have had star players like Morant and Zion Willamson miss chunks of time, along with multiple role players.
Morant has already missed 12 games this season due to various injuries. Entering Friday, Memphis was without Marcus Smart, GG Jackson, Vince Williams Jr. and Santi Aldama who rolled his ankle in a win against the Toronto Raptors the night before.
Despite their many absences, the Grizzlies have been one of the top squads in the Western Conferences at 21-10. Memphis had won seven of its last 10 games entering the night and sits third in the West.
Morant was undoubtedly a catalyst for the early success with averages of 21.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.1 steals.