Another game, another unfortunate injury suffered by the Grizzlies' superstar point guard in an important game for the team. A little over a week after an ankle sprain severely hampered his performance in their first play-in tournament game against the Golden State Warriors, Ja Morant left Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a hip pointer.
He suffered the injury after a hard fall on a fastbreak dunk attempt over Thunder guard Luguentz Dort late in the second quarter and didn't return. Heard that before? In Game 1 of the Grizzlies' 2023 first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Morant left the game in the middle of the fourth quarter after suffering a left hand injury on a hard fall from a dunk attempt over then-Lakers forward Anthony Davis.
He ultimately missed Game 2 of that series against the Lakers before returning for the last four games of their 4-2 series loss. In the 2022 playoffs, Ja Morant missed the Grizzlies' last three games of their second-round series against the Golden State Warriors with a knee bruise suffered towards the end of their Game 3 loss.
With his injury history well documented and his status for Game 4 against the Thunder unknown, it's fair to question the validity of his playing style.
Can Ja Morant be a healthy contributor for a deep playoff run?
The story of this Grizzlies era has been that they show some progression, but a Morant injury seems to strike at the wrong time. He's missed at least 21 games in each of the past four seasons, including multiple playoff games when the team needed him the most.
Each time he has left the game early in postseason play due to injury, whether he returned to the game or not, the Grizzlies suffered a loss. Last night's loss to the Thunder was the worst as they blew a 29-point, scoring only 31 second-half points after he left the game.
While the Grizzlies have managed to overcome his injuries during the regular season to stay afloat in the playoff race during the majority of his career, the postseason results loom large. Last night dropped the Grizzlies' postseason record in games that Morant either missed or left and didn't return to 2-5.
Morant is only 25 years old, and he condensed his game down some this season to try to help cut down on the injuries, to no avail. Due to his age and willingness to transform his game, the Grizzlies will need to count on injury luck to turn to the positive side for future success if they plan to keep building around their superstar.