Ja Morant’s injury news clouds Blazers’ road trip

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Ja Morant’s injury news clouds Blazers’ road trip

Originally posted on Lindy's Sports | By Eman Zahra | Last updated Oct 30, 2026 6:33 PM ET

Portland Trail Blazers guard Ja Morant left Thursday’s 124-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with a left hamstring injury, and nobody in Portland knows yet how serious it is.

Morant, facing his former team for the first time as a Blazer, walked off with 7:46 left and was ruled out soon after. The Blazers now start a four-game road trip with a question mark at point guard.

He finished with 14 points and three assists in 23 minutes. Yahoo Sports called it a “revenge game” that ended early, and Memphis improved to 5-0 on the night.

Morant had been playing well. Heavy reported he was averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 assists before the injury, and he’d played in Portland’s 136-129 win over the Lakers just two nights earlier.

Coach Micah Nori is hoping the issue turns out to be minor

After the game, Nori said Morant told him he felt something in the hamstring, so Nori tried to take a foul to get him out.

The Blazers were forcing turnovers, though, and the game kept moving. Evaluation was still to come. As Nori put it, he’s “hoping it’s nothing major.”

Nori also said it was the first time he’d been around Morant when something like this happened, so the two of them are learning the process together. He expected to know more Friday.

After the game, Nori said Morant told him he felt something in the hamstring, so Nori tried to take a foul to get him out. Harry How / Getty Images

Portland’s backcourt will have to soak up minutes in the meantime

If Morant misses time, Heavy’s read is that the Blazers lean harder on veterans Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, give more run to Scoot Henderson, and ask even more of Deni Avdija.

How long that lasts depends on the diagnosis, which doesn’t exist yet. For perspective, Heavy noted that mild-to-moderate hamstring strains in the NBA typically take three to eight weeks to heal. That’s a general range, not a prognosis for Morant.

Portland acquired Morant in a trade this offseason, and the Blazers are trying to turn themselves into a playoff team. Nori has said Morant told him during a lunch that Portland would get the best version of him, and the early results backed that up.

A short absence is easy to absorb. A long one in the first month of the season, on a road trip, is a different problem. Friday’s update will say which one Portland is facing.

This article first appeared on Lindy's Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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