Grizzlies star Ja Morant exited Game 1 of the Memphis Grizzlies’ first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers late in the fourth quarter after injuring his wrist on a scary fall. Morant did not return to the game. The Lakers went on to beat the Grizzlies, 128-112, to begin play in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Ja Morant injury: Grizzlies out for Game 2 vs. Lakers with sore wrist
Here’s the latest on Ja Morant’s injury vs. the Lakers.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Morant has been ruled out for Game 2:
Morant was undercut in mid-air when Lakers star Anthony Davis slid in front of him to take a charge as Morant took off for a dunk attempt. Morant was called for a charge on the play, but the bigger concern immediately became the status of his wrist. The Grizzlies star was so high in the air when Davis decided to take the charge, and as he put his arms down to brace his fall, his wrist took the worst of the impact.
Morant reportedly didn’t break anything, but his Game 2 status remains up in the air. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there’s not a lot of optimism Morant will play in Game 2:
NBA insider Shams Charania said Morant is dealing with significant pain:
Morant’s initial X-rays were negative, but he was reportedly in poor spirits after the game, and couldn’t use his wrist to do even the simplest of tasks.
Here’s a look at the play Morant was injured on:
The Lakers went on a 23-11 run in just under six minutes after Morant exited to secure the Game 1 victory. The Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference to enter the playoffs, but a matchup with the No. 7 seed Lakers suddenly feels a lot more treacherous if Morant can’t play.
The Grizzlies are already without starting center Steven Adams, and key reserve Brandon Clarke, in this series because of injuries.
We’ll update this story as it develops.
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