What happened to Ja Morant? Latest injury update for Grizzlies guard after hard fall vs Lakers (Nov. 6)
Ja Morant exited Wednesday's game against the LA Lakers in the third quarter. The Memphis Grizzlies superstar suffered a hamstring injury after a hard fall to the ground. He got body slammed on a drive by Lakers' center Christian Koloko, leading to his injury exit.
Morant limped off the floor immediately. He returned to the bench momentarily but exited the contest one final time in the fourth quarter.
With the Grizzlies leading by a huge margin, Memphis held Morant out. He had 20 points, four rebounds and five assists on 7 of 17 shots, including two triples in 24:09 minutes of action. Morant left the game with 3:27 left in the third and the Grizzlies leading 87-75.
Here's Morant's last possession leading to his injury.
The Grizzlies won the game 131-114. They extended the 12-point advantage once Morant left the game, taking a game-high 22-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Ja Morant's injury doesn't seem like a long-term issue
Ja Morant's reaction to his hamstring injury suggests it's not a long-term issue. After the game, Morant gave a positive status update, saying he was "good." The Grizzlies will be glad that's the case, considering his injury-proneness over the past year. Morant also suffered an ankle injury during the preseason, which impacted his conditioning to start the year.
He didn't play 30 minutes in his first five games of the season. Morant's minutes have been pushed in the past two games, and he's looked more comfortable with a heavy workload. He could have been on track to play his season-high minutes if he didn't exit Wednesday's game early in the third quarter. It's also important, considering the Grizzlies are without Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart for now.
Nevertheless, the rest of the players have been stepping up lately, and it was on display against the Lakers once Morant went down. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaylen Wells scored 20 points each, while Jay Huff and Jake LaRavia combined for 24 points off the bench to ensure Memphis keeps its advantage and improves on it after Morant's injury.
The Grizzlies have improved to 5-4 after the win.