The Memphis Grizzlies will be short-handed for a divisional battle at FedExForum.
Star point guard Ja Morant is out for Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets
Morant was added to the injury report on Thursday morning and listed as questionable. He was later downgraded to doubtful.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant “absorbed a bump to the shoulder” in Wednesday’s practice. Morant made the Grizzlies aware of the soreness on Thursday morning.
“When he’s in there, he’s given us everything that he’s got, which is a testament to him,” Jenkins said. “Hopefully he bounces back from this here in the short term.”
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This is Morant’s 20th missed game this season. Memphis is 12-7 when Morant is unavailable.
Morant is averaging 20.3 points and 7.5 assists per game this season. Despite another strong season from the Grizzlies star, he is battling through his worst stretch.
In eight January games, Morant averaged a season-low in points (18.1) and assists (6.5) despite averaging more minutes per game than any previous month this season (30.1).
With Morant unavailable, the Grizzlies will likely turn to Desmond Bane as the point guard and add Luke Kennard to the starting lineup. This is the backcourt combination the Grizzlies (31-16) have relied on in their last two games without Morant.
In those two games, Bane tied his season high of 14 assists in each matchup. Those wins came against the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
Houston (32-14) is a different caliber of opponent and will be a stronger test. The Grizzlies are 0-3 against the Rockets this season.
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
