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Grizzlies Notes: Jenkins, Morant, Brooks, Maturity

April 29th, 2023 at 1:46pm CST by Rory Maher

Memphis’ season came to a screeching halt on Friday night as the Grizzlies were thoroughly lambasted by the Lakers in the sixth and final game of their first-round series, losing by 40 points. Head coach Taylor Jenkins referred to the No. 2 seed’s early exit as “the ultimate wake-up call,” as ESPN’s Tim MacMahon relays.

“Are we going to really understand that it’s the preparation and the offseason, the preparation in the season?” Jenkins said. “It’s what you do at work, off the court — clearly, there are things that we’ve got to control and just embrace it together. How are we going to support each other throughout all this stuff?

“This is a journey that you go through from the start of the season to the end of the season, and it’s not supposed to be easy, any of it. So are we going to take it lightly and take it for granted or we going to take a real hard look at the mirror?”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Star point guard Ja Morant acknowledged that his off-court behavior — which included an eight-game suspension in March due to a gun-related incident, among several others — negatively impacted the team this season, MacMahon adds in the same story. “I’ve just got to be better with my decision-making,” said Morant, who finished with 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting in the blowout defeat. “That’s pretty much it. Off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just [need] more discipline.”
Morant also took accountability for his “I’m fine in the West” comment from earlier in the season being used against him now, notes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). “I don’t mind. I said it. I’ll deal with it,” Morant said.
For the third time in the series, all after losses, forward Dillon Brooks refused to speak publicly after the game. He left the locker room before the media was permitted to enter, tweets MacMahon. Brooks, an unrestricted free agent this summer, was up to his usual trash-talking antics early in the series after evening it at one game apiece, calling LeBron James “old” and saying he was past his prime. Obviously that came back to bite the Grizzlies, as the Lakers went on to win three of the next four games.
Injuries to key players like Morant (hand), Steven Adams (knee), Brandon Clarke (torn Achilles), and Luke Kennard (who missed Game 6 with shoulder soreness) certainly were a factor in the series, but the team’s lack of maturity and attention to detail were arguably bigger issues, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today makes a similar case, writing that Memphis’ biggest offseason goal should be “growing up” emotionally.

Grizzlies Notes: Kennard, Bane, Jenkins, Game 5 Win

April 27th, 2023 at 5:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luke Kennard‘s health could be a key element in the Grizzlies’ aim to win their series against the Lakers after trailing 3-1. Kennard injured his left shoulder in the second half of Game 5 but he provided an optimistic update after Memphis’ win. Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“I just got a stinger out there,” Kennard said. “Getting it looked at (Thursday), trying to find out a little more, but it’s all good right now.”

With Dillon Brooks struggling with his shot and the Lakers sagging off him, Kennard has proved to be a better offensive option, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. He’s shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers and 52 percent overall in this series.

“Luke is one of the best shooters in the league,” Ja Morant said. “Obviously that opens up a lot of space on the floor and we just play off that.”

We have more on the Grizzlies:

Desmond Bane racked up 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in Game 5 and made a de facto guarantee that the Grizzlies will win Game 6 on the Lakers’ home floor, Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays. “We got to come with the right edge and the right road mentality, but I said it out there and I’ll say it again,” Bane said. “We’re going to be back for a Game 7 in front of the best fans in the NBA.”
While there’s no indication he’ll be replaced if the team flops in the first round, coach Taylor Jenkins is under pressure to show he can be successful in the postseason. Cole and Mark Giann0tto of the Commercial Appeal examine that topic.
In a subscriber-only story, Chris Herrinigton of the Daily Memphian examines how the Game 5 victory could propel Memphis the rest of the series, including the fact that Morant and Bane are hot offensively at the same time.

Ja Morant Returns For Game 3

April 22nd, 2023 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant will be active for tonight’s Game 3 against the Lakers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will be in Memphis’ starting lineup, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

Morant wound up missing just one game with the right hand injury he suffered in the fourth quarter of the series opener last Sunday. The Grizzlies won without Morant on Wednesday night to knot the series at 1-1 heading to Los Angeles.

Team officials were encouraged during Saturday morning’s shootaround as Morant was making shots with his right hand, according to Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. He wore black tape on the hand as he attempted spot-up three-point jumpers, Cole adds, noting that reporters had only seen Morant dribbling and shooting with his left hand throughout the week.

“He looked good,” Luke Kennard told Cole. “We had a great couple days here so far, and he looked good so far. He was able to shoot the ball some, so we’ll see how it goes.”

There was hope that Morant would be available for Wednesday’s Game 2, but he wasn’t able to pass grip and dribbling tests, so he was ruled out shortly before game time.

Injury Updates: Morant, Giannis, Wiggins, Payne

April 20th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Going into Wednesday’s Game 2, there were indications that Ja Morant‘s right hand injury had healed enough for him to play, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. In a meeting with reporters shortly before game time, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said his star guard was “feeling a little bit better,” adding that he just had to clear some tests regarding his grip and his ability to dribble.

The announcement that Morant would miss the game was made about an hour before tipoff. Jenkins explained that the team decided to be cautious with the injury, which an MRI revealed involves soft tissues between the bones in Morant’s hand.

“He got all the testing and was still battling some soreness, a little pain,” Jenkins said. “It’s just a collective decision. We all decided that, and obviously he’s a warrior, he wants to be out there, would do anything to be out there, but we just felt like hey, just given all the testing results, give him this game and just wait a couple more days in between.

“We’re hopeful that with the progress he’s making the last couple of days, you know, he’ll be back sooner rather than later. Can’t guarantee when that’s going to be, but it was just one of those things that we just couldn’t, you know, pull it to have him in tonight.”

The series will resume Saturday night in Los Angeles.

There’s more injury news to pass along:

It was also close to game time Wednesday when the Bucks determined that Giannis Antetokounmpo wouldn’t be available, per Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Antetokounmpo had been upgraded to questionable, but the team opted to not to take a risk with his injured back. “I told him this morning, like, I know you’re going to want to come back but if you don’t, just know we got you,” Jrue Holiday said. “Again, our team has the ultimate confidence in each other and we know how Giannis is. We know Giannis is going to try and make that Superman effort and come back and play 48 minutes and do what he does, but like I said, we can hold down the fort until he comes back.”
The Warriors are listing Andrew Wiggins as questionable for Thursday’s Game 3 with soreness in his right shoulder, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Wiggins has been dealing with the shoulder issue since the postseason began, but he was able to play 39 minutes in Game 2.
Backup point guard Cameron Payne remains questionable for the Suns in Game 3, tweets Law Murray of the Athletic, who adds that coach Monty Williams indicated that Payne has to overcome “movement-related hurdles” before he can play again.

Ja Morant Ruled Out For Game 2

April 19th, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ja Morant will miss tonight’s game due to lingering soreness in his right hand, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).

Morant hurt his hand when he crashed to the court after colliding with the Lakers‘ Anthony Davis on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 1. Morant had to leave the game, but X-rays on his hand were negative.

Morant had been listed as questionable for Game 2, and a report Tuesday night indicated that the Grizzlies were pessimistic about his availability. He told media members that he was feeling intense pain in the hand following the Game 1 loss.

The injury appears to be a reaggravation of a bruise that Morant suffered during the final week of the regular season.

The Lakers and Grizzlies don’t play again until Saturday, so Morant will have three more days to attempt to recover for Game 3.

Injury Updates: Morant, Payne, James, Davis, George, Gobert, Jokic

April 18th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is officially listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Lakers, the team’s PR department tweets. Morant is dealing with right hand soreness. He landed hard on the court while committing a charge during the fourth quarter of Game 1.

Adrian Wojnarowski said on the “NBA on ESPN” show that he “does not sense a great deal of optimism” that Morant will play on Wednesday (Twitter link). An MRI on Monday revealed an aggravation of soft tissue bruising in Morant’s hand. He originally injured the hand in the Grizzlies’ April 7 win over Milwaukee, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

We have more injury-related updates:

Suns reserve guard Cameron Payne won’t play in Game 2 against the Clippers on Tuesday, Chris Haynes of TNT tweets. Payne hasn’t played since April 7 due to a back injury.
Both members of the Lakers’ dynamic duo popped up on the injury report submitted the team’s PR department, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. However, they are listed as probable for Game 2 against Memphis, with LeBron James dealing with right foot soreness and Anthony Davis nursing a right foot stress injury.
Clippers forward Paul George did a mix of conditioning and shooting drills during a workout prior to the team’s shootaround on Tuesday, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports. George is recovering from a sprained right knee and it remains uncertain whether he’ll play at all during the first-round series.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is listed as questionable to play in Game 2 of their series against the Nuggets on Wednesday due to back spasms, the team’s PR department tweets.
While it would be surprising if he didn’t play in Game 2, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is also listed as questionable due to a right wrist sprain, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic participated in practice on Tuesday and didn’t seem to think the sprain was overly serious.

Injury Notes: Giannis, Morant, Hart, Randle, Payne

April 18th, 2023 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

After previously stating that X-rays on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s back injury came back negative, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said on Monday that an MRI also came back clean, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

The Bucks haven’t made any official announcements yet about Antetokounmpo’s availability for Game 2 on Wednesday, but Budenholzer told reporters on Monday that the superstar forward was making progress despite still being sore.

“He’s getting some treatment and I think we’ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two,” Budenholzer said. “Probably fortunate that there are two days between games, so I think still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we’ll see how he feels over the next day or two.”

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

The status of Grizzlies star Ja Morant for Wednesday’s game vs. the Lakers remains up in the air due to his hand injury. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on NBA Today on Monday (Twitter video link) that there’s “significant doubt” about Morant’s ability to play in Game 2. Shams Charania of The Athletic hears that tests on Morant’s hand revealed no breaks and that his availability could end up being a question of pain tolerance. The All-Star guard referred to his pain level on Sunday as a 10 out of 10.
One day after listing Josh Hart as doubtful for Game 2 due to a left ankle sprain, the Knicks have upgraded him to questionable (Twitter link). Knicks forward Julius Randle also provided a positive update on his own ankle sprain, telling reporters that he’s feeling no ill effects after playing in Game 1, though he admitted that his conditioning isn’t yet where he wants it to be (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
Suns guard Cameron Payne, who was limited to 48 games this season due to injuries and didn’t play in Game 1 on Sunday, has been listed as questionable for Tuesday’s Game 2 due to low back soreness, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Grizzlies Notes: Morant Injury, Jones, Jackson

April 17th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies haven’t determined Ja Morant‘s status going forward, but the scene in the locker room wasn’t encouraging after Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Morant kept his right hand at his side after hurting it on a collision with Anthony Davis in the fourth quarter. He used his left hand to check his phone, put on headphones and get dressed after a shower, raising questions about whether he can be ready when the series resumes Wednesday night.

Morant appeared to reaggravate a bruise on his hand that he suffered in the next-to-last game of the season. An X-ray on the hand Sunday was negative, but Morant described his pain level as “about a 10” and admitted there was “doubt” that he can be ready for Game 2.

“I’m gonna do anything to try to be out there for my team, be out there on the floor, pretty much how much I can tolerate, to like I can go out there and be somewhat like myself,” he said. “ If not, I don’t want to do anything to hurt the team.”

Vardon notes that most of Morant’s difficulties this season have been self-inflicted, with the most obvious being an eight-game suspension last month after posting a video of himself with a gun in a Denver-area nightclub. That seemed to be weighing on him as he considered the injury he suffered Sunday, Vardon states.

“It’s very tough, stressful,” Morant said. “Obviously, I feel like you guys can tell my body language and stuff now. Pretty much taking what happened, I don’t know, I’m numb to everything right now. It’s like, I’m not even surprised. It’s one thing after another.”

There’s more from Memphis:

The suspension gave the Grizzlies a chance to get used to playing without Morant, so they have some confidence even if he can’t be ready for Wednesday, Vardon adds. Backup point guard Tyus Jones made 22 starts this season, averaging 16.4 points and 8.1 assists per game in that role, and Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. look to score more often when Morant is out. “We’ve been in that position before without him on the floor, and Tyus is obviously capable to play a big role and make plays on both ends of the floor,” Bane said. “You know, so, hopefully, Ja is back Wednesday, but if not, Ty will be ready to go.”
Jackson was a bright spot for Memphis with 31 points while hitting 13 of his 21 shots from the field, notes Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. Jackson was one of the league’s best interior players over the last month of the regular season and he looked like a mismatch for LeBron James in Game 1, Cole adds.
The Lakers may now be the favorites to win the series considering Sunday’s performance and the uncertainty surrounding Morant, contends Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

Ja Morant Suffers Hand Injury, Game 2 Status Questionable

April 16th, 2023 at 5:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant suffered an injury to his right hand and wrist midway through the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Lakers on Sunday (ESPN video link).

X-rays were negative but “he’s in some pain,” coach Taylor Jenkins told Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) and other media members afterward. The medical staff is still evaluating his hand and wrist. Morant already had a nagging injury to the hand before he crashed into Anthony Davis and was called for charging.

Morant said he re-injured his hand, not his wrist, on the play. Asked if there’s a chance he won’t be able to play in Game 2, Morant responded “yes,” Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets. Game 2 is scheduled to be played on Wednesday in Memphis.

If Morant needs to miss any games, it would obviously be a huge blow to the Grizzlies’ chances to advancing. The seventh-seeded Lakers took complete command after Morant departed to the locker room and collected a 128-112 victory. No. 2 seed Memphis is already playing without starting center Steven Adams, who is expected to miss the entire postseason due to a knee injury.

Morant had a rough outing prior to the injury. He scored 18 points in 30 minutes but only had two assists, compared to six turnovers.

Western Notes: Ishbia, Morant, Nuggets, Russell

April 16th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

Approximately 17 months after an ESPN report painted a detailed picture of a toxic workplace environment in Phoenix under Suns owner Robert Sarver and just over two months after Sarver completed the sale of the team to Mat Ishbia, Ishbia’s own company – United Wholesale Mortgage – is facing allegations along similar lines.

According to Polly Mosendz and Caleb Melby of Bloomberg, conversations with more than two dozen people who have worked at the company revealed complaints about racial disparities, sexual harassment, and bullying by managers at United Wholesale Mortgage.

While the troubling allegations may feel like déjà vu for Suns fans, it’s important to clarify that Ishbia himself wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing like Sarver was and that these allegations aren’t related to the NBA franchise at all.

For what it’s worth, United Wholesale Mortgage issued a statement to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic insisting that Bloomberg’s portrayal of the company’s workplace is “false and misleading” and referring to the report as having portrayed a “sensationalized caricature” of UWM.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Grizzlies star Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against the teenager he punched during a pickup game last summer, arguing that false statements by the teen could cost him an All-NBA berth and his chance at a super-max payday, reports Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. The teen’s initial lawsuit named Morant as the instigator of the incident and said that the Grizzlies guard went into his home and came back with a gun tucked into his pants, both claims that Morant denies. Regardless of whether those allegations are true or false, Morant’s suit makes a dubious argument, since the eight-game suspension that may cost him an All-NBA spot (and upwards of $39MM) was the result of a separate gun-related incident.
As the No. 1 seed in in a year without an obvious favorite to come out of the West, there will be significant pressure on head coach Michael Malone and the Nuggets to make a deep playoff run, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (subscription required). Malone doesn’t necessarily disagree with Kiszla’s argument, but says he won’t be influenced by the expectations that outsiders have for his team. “We as an organization put pressure on ourselves to win a championship. That’s what motivates us. That’s the pressure,” Malone said. “The external pressure? Fans, bloggers, this, that, I could give a (bleep). It’s about what I put on myself.”
D’Angelo Russell didn’t make the postseason during his first stint with the Lakers, so after rejoining the team at the February trade deadline, he’s excited to make his playoff debut for Los Angeles — even after a forgettable play-in performance in which he made 1-of-9 shots and was benched down the stretch. “We needed to win, honestly. We needed to win,” Russell said of Tuesday’s play-in game, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. “For me to dwell on it and be upset or confidence low, I don’t think that’s the right approach. Definitely want to do anything and everything I can do to not be in that position in the future.”