2 min read • November 27, 2021
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Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant suffered a non-contact left knee injury in the 1st quarter tonight. The 3rd-year guard took a bad step while bringing the ball into the paint, went down grabbing his left knee, and had to be helped off the court.
Obviously, the biggest concern with a non-contact injury is the ACL, but we don’t see that on video. Limited video of the injury is consistent with something catching in his knee, most likely a loose body or chip, similar to what he had in his surgically-repaired right knee in June 2019. A meniscus tear is also a possibility. The 22-year-old may need a scope done, and his calendar year could be over, but it is not a season-ending injury.
Morant later added more concern to the injury, posting a white screen on Twitter with the sentence "It's in God's hands now. All we can do is pray" about 2 hours after the injury. He returned to the bench in street clothes with no crutches later in the contest. We will know more when tests are done.
Morant is averaging a career-high 25.3 points along with 7.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds in 18 games this season and career-best shooting splits from the field (47.8%) and from 3 (35.6%). Memphis is 9-9 and in the 8th spot in the West. The Grizzlies have 18 games left in 2021, including 2 games vs the Lakers, 2 vs the Mavericks, and 1 each against the Warriors, Suns, and Heat.
Update:
The Grizzlies announced late Friday night that Morant has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain after initial tests. He has suffered seemingly devastating injuries that turn out to be mild, notably in Dec. 2020, when he left the floor in a wheelchair on what amounted to a grade 2 left ankle sprain that kept him out for 8 games.
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