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 of 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.
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