The Memphis Grizzlies (55-23) hit the road to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz (46-32) on April 5 in one of the final games of the 2021-22 regular season.
The Jazz, who eliminated the Grizzlies in the first round of last year’s playoffs (4-1), are in a free fall at the worst time. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, just days before the NBA Playoffs begin.
While the Grizzlies have clinched the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, there are still some things to work out before we enter playoff mode.
The main concern is the Grizzlies have not had Ja Morant in the lineup since March 13 when he went down with a knee injury against the Atlanta Hawks.
Will Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant play April 5 vs Utah Jazz?
Ja Morant has officially been ruled out for competing against the Jazz, according to Grizzlies PR. It’s not too surprising to see the third-year guard ruled out of the game.
According to Mark Giannotto of the Memphis Comercial Appeal, Morant has not even done any full-contact work during practice. He’s expected to be re-evaluated by the medical team on Wednesday or Thursday.
Taylor Jenkins said Ja Morant was a full participant in Memphis Grizzlies practice today ahead of road trip to Utah and Denver, although the team didn’t do any full contact work. Plan is still to be re-evaluated by medical staff mid-week.
— Mark Giannotto (@mgiannotto) April 4, 2022
After the game against Utah, the Grizzlies will face the Denver Nuggets on April 7. Since Morant isn’t even listed as doubtful or questionable, it seems like a long shot that he’d play that game.
The best opportunity for Morant to get one last dress rehearsal in before the playoffs will be either the home game April 9 vs New Orleans or the home finale vs Boston April 10.
It seems like a long shot that many key contributors would play in that final game, which will have absolutely no impact on the team’s seeding or momentum heading into the playoffs April 16.