The Memphis Grizzlies won’t know until just before tip-off if their top player, Ja Morant, will be available for Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. Morant suffered a right-hand injury midway through the fourth quarter in Sunday’s 128-112 loss that put Memphis in an 0-1 hole.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at FedEx Forum where LA is a -1 point favorite (-105) at BetOnline. The total is 227.
Morant was hurt when he ran into Anthony Davis in the lane midway through the fourth quarter. He left the court in obvious pain and later returned with his hand bandaged.
According to one prominent NBA insider, Morant’s status remains up in the air for Game 2.
No breaks or fractures in Grizzlies star Ja Morant's right hand, sources say. His status remains up in air for Game 2 vs. Lakers with what's believed to be a significant pain tolerance injury. Reporting from Run It Back on @FanDuelTV: pic.twitter.com/MKqhnPamfY
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 18, 2023
Grizzlies head coach Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins concurred saying that Morant suffered no ligament damage and will be a game-time decision.
A challenging season for Morant
He signed a five-year, supermax contract last July after being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. It was the latest step for the No. 2 pick overall in the 2019 draft who wound up the league’s Rookie of the Year. Morant made his first All-Star game last season as the Grizzlies earned the No. 2 seed in the West.
This season, Morant landed a signature shoe deal with Nike for the Ja1 and an endorsement deal with Powerade before news broke of a sealed lawsuit accusing him of punching a 17-year-old during a pickup basketball game at his home last July.
Morant also saw the NBA come down on him in the form of a eight game suspension. This after he livestreamed video of himself holding a gun in the early morning hours of March 4 at a Denver-area club.
Lakers focused on the job at hand
Don’t get me wrong, the Lakers have had their share of drama too but nothing on the level of Morant. It seems that right now LA is concentrating on winning basketball games and that spells trouble for the rest of the league.
The Lakers have had their share of drama too but nothing on the level of Morant. It seems that right now LA is focused on winning basketball games. That could spell trouble for the rest of the league.
In Sunday’s win, Rui Hachimura came off the bench to score a team-high 29 points:
Rui Hachimura Game 1 Highlights. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1i3QcASIFc
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) April 16, 2023
LeBron James and Anthony Davis both posted double-doubles.
Hachimura was one of four Lakers to score at least 21 points, joined by Austin Reaves with 23 in his first career postseason game. Davis added 22 points and James scored 21. Davis also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and had seven blocked shots. Here’s one of them:
ANTHONY DAVIS
CAREER PLAYOFFS
24.0 PTS 27.2 PPG
10.4 REB 10.3 RPG
51.9% FG 53.9% FG
50.5% WP 60.0% WP
27.0 PER 27.8 PERAD GOES FROM A SUPERSTAR TO AN ALL-TIME GREAT! 〰️pic.twitter.com/7029gsBl8l
— Lakers Lead 1-0 (@LakersLead) April 18, 2023
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