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Ja Morant’s availability for the Grizzlies’ regular season opener is now in question after the star point guard suffered a sprained left ankle at practice Sunday. He is considered week-to-week, per the team.
With the Grizzlies beginning their season at home Oct. 22 against the Pelicans, a week-to-week designation leaves some doubt as to whether Morant will be in the lineup. Grizzlies fans are all too familiar with Morant being on the injury report, as the All-Star guard missed at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons.
Last year, Morant’s season ended with a hip injury suffered in Game 2 of the Grizzlies’ first round series with the Thunder and missed games due to a variety of injuries including his hip, back, shoulder, knee and hamstring. When he was on the court, Morant took a small step back both in productivity and efficiency, as Memphis tried out a new offensive system that was less tailored to Morant’s strengths.
This season, with a new head coach in Tuomas Iisalo in place, the Grizzlies hope to get Morant back to an All-Star and All-NBA level. Now Morant will miss much of Iisalo’s first training camp in charge, losing some valuable reps in the new system, and could begin the regular season on the sideline as he works back from a sprained ankle.
After trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, the Grizzlies figure to lean even more on Morant as a scorer. If Morant is unable to start the season, the expectation would be for Scotty Pippen Jr., who started 21 games a year ago when Morant was out, to step into that role until he could return.
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