The Memphis Grizzlies were already facing a big challenge in the Western Conference with two starters out to begin the season. Now, that number is likely up to three.
Ja Morant sprained his left ankle in practice Sunday and is considered “week to week” going forward. That’s bad news for the Grizzlies, who are just two weeks away from their season opener. They’re already missing starters Jaren Jackson Jr., who had surgery in July for a turf toe injury, and Zach Edey, who had ankle surgery in June.
Frontcourt absences were already a concern
The Grizzlies expect to get Jackson back by mid-November, while Edey is likely to return in December. Backup big man Brandon Clarke doesn’t have a projected return after an arthroscopic knee procedure last Monday. That’s bad timing since the Grizzlies play 10 of their first 16 games against 2025 playoff teams.
They’ll have to face star big men like Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Chet Holmgren in that stretch, plus Victor Wembanyama in their 17th game. Figuring out how to stop those players with a decimated frontcourt will be a tall order.
Ja Morant’s injury history has been extensive
The injuries to Grizzlies big men are an impediment, but one that the Grizzlies have known about since early in the summer. Morant’s ankle sprain is unexpected and happens at a difficult time when the Grizzlies are trying to integrate new guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ty Jerome into the team after trading shooting guard Desmond Bane in the offseason.
Trading Bane was a cost-saving move that depended on Morant making up for Bane’s lost offense (19.2 PPG, 5.3 assists). Now, Morant might miss the beginning of the season, with his ankle remaining a concern even after he returns. Morant has famously missed a lot of time due to suspensions, including one that cost him the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season. But he’s also missed significant time due to injuries.
After serving his suspension, Morant played only nine games in 2023-24 thanks to injuring his shoulder in practice. He missed 32 games last season due to injuries all over his body — shoulder, hip, thigh, knee, back, foot, hamstring and ankle. Even in his breakout 2021-22 season, Morant missed 25 games with injuries. He’s a fantastic player — but only in two-thirds of his team’s games.
Now, the Grizzlies will be relying on a short-handed team in a highly competitive Western Conference, where last season winning 48 games only got the Grizzlies eighth place (they would have been fifth in the East). They may only be missing their top two big men for a month, but for a team whose margin for error was already thin, it could be the difference between the playoffs and the play-in tournament.
