The Memphis Grizzlies are hoping that the injury to Ja Morant is not a mirror from last year. During the 2023-24 season, the star point guard returned from his suspension and was able to play in just 9 games before suffering a dislocation of his right shoulder. So when he left the court on Friday night clutching that same arm, there were fears of Morant missing extended time.
Ja Morant Leaves Friday’s Game With Shoulder Injury
The injury happened in the 3rd quarter of the Grizzlies’ game against the Pelicans. Morant ran into a legal screen by New Orleans’ big man Daniel Theis, and crashed to the floor while clutching at the previously injured shoulder. He would exit the game for good, though he remained near the Memphis bench while cheering on his teammates.
But his right arm was noticeably immobile, and continued to be when he dressed at his locker after the game.
There are no official reports on the severity of the injury or whether it will force the two-time All Star to miss any extended period of time. According to head coach Taylor Jenkins, there will be “more of an evaluation in the next couple of days.”
Ja Morant takes a hard hit on the screen from Theis
Going back to the locker room holding his neck pic.twitter.com/itAqSGcQYr
— eric (@EricTweetsNBA) December 28, 2024
The ailment comes at a tough time for Ja Morant and the Grizzlies. They have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA during the month of December, having gone 14-3 over their last 17 games, and have surged all the way up to second place in the Western Conference, currently 3.5 games back of the Thunder for the top spot.
If their point guard is expected to miss extended time, it wouldn’t cause much of a panic for the Grizzlies. Morant has already missed 12 games this season with various ailments, and has only been the team’s leading scorer in 7 of their 32 games overall. They feature a balance scoring attack, and are ranked first in the NBA in points per game at 124.
Ja Morant is averaging the second-lowest scoring total of his career, putting up 21.2 per game for far in 2024-25. He averaged over 25 last year, down from his career-high of 27.4 in 2021-22.
