Last season, the Grizzlies were a shockingly impressive 20-5 when Ja Morant missed a game. This season they are 0-2, and the team has a -7.9 net rating when he is not on the court.
That will be put to the test now as Morant is listed as week-to-week due to a Grade 1 sprain of his left ankle, the team announced.
The @memgrizz announced the following medical update. pic.twitter.com/DAuLn5V9Sj
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) November 19, 2022
Morant has a history of ankle issues, as Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes points out.
Re: Ja Morant: A Grade 1 sprain is considered mild w/ micro tearing of the involved ligaments. Morant has a history of injury here having previously missed time w/ a Grade 2 (incomplete tear) sprain of the same ankle. That injury occurred last season & cost Morant 8 games.
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) November 19, 2022
This leaves the Grizzlies without their high-powered backcourt with Desmond Bane sidelined with a sprained toe. A critical reason the Grizzlies went 20-5 last season without Morant was the play of Bane, but other players will have to step up this time.
Morant has picked up where he left off following an All-NBA season where he averages 28.6 points a game, along with 7.1 assists and 6.2 rebounds a night. He has been his dynamic, athletic self this season, and the Grizzlies will miss that for a week or two.
