Let’s just hope this is not as ugly as it looks.
Just minutes before halftime, Grizzlies rising star Ja Morant contested a Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot elbow jumper, but his left foot landed on top of Luwawu-Cabarrot’s foot and Morant’s ankle rolled severely. Morant was instantly in pain, hopped on one foot behind the basket and collapsed, where he was attended to by team medical staff. Morant could not put any weight on his ankle and the Grizzlies had to bring out a wheelchair to take him to the locker room.
Ja Morant badly injures his ankle 😥pic.twitter.com/iatCyp1Xvh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 29, 2020
The Grizzlies called the injury an ankle sprain and said Morant would not return for the second half.
.@memgrizz injury report: Ja Morant (left ankle sprain) will not return.
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) December 29, 2020
This is a huge blow to the Grizzlies, both in terms of this season and the development of Morant, a future cornerstone.
The severity of his ankle sprain and how long he will be out is not yet known. With ankle sprains — and hopefully, that’s all it is — it is usually the next morning before the severity becomes clear. Morant will undoubtedly get an MRI to make sure this is nothing more than a sprained ankle.
Morant, the reigning Rookie of the Year, scored 44 points in the Memphis season opener against San Antonio. He had 28 in a loss to Atlanta, and He had seven points on 2-of-7 shooting in this game before his injury.
