The Memphis Grizzlies took care of business on Tuesday night in their first game following the announcement of Ja Morant’s season-ending injury. Memphis was also without Jaren Jackson Jr., Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama, and Derrick Rose as they entered Tuesday’s showdown against the Dallas Mavericks extremely undermanned.
Somehow, the Grizzlies were still able to scrape out a 120-103 blowout win over Luka Doncic and Co. Unfortunately for them, former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was forced to exit the game with an injury and was unable to return.
Ja Morant Done for the Season
News broke on Monday that Morant had been diagnosed with a labrum tear and that he would need to undergo surgery to address the shoulder injury. He would need several months to recover from the procedure, which has now put an end to his 2023-24 campaign.
BREAKING: Ja Morant is out for the rest of the season due to a labrum tear pic.twitter.com/Pd1cH3ROkm
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 9, 2024
Morant’s devastating injury came after just nine games played this season. He just recently came back following a lengthy league-mandated suspension for brandishing a gun on social media (for a second time) during the offseason.
The two-time All-Star ends his season with averages of 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 8.1 assists, and 1.6 triples per game.
Memphis Grizzlies Star Marcus Smart Exits Game
As if things weren’t bad enough for the Grizzlies, they lost another key player on Tuesday in Marcus Smart. The 29-year-old exited the game with a finger injury and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
In true Marcus Smart fashion, however, the feisty guard was still able to drain a triple with a dislocated finger before leaving the game for good:
Marcus Smart drains the 3 with a dislocated finger 😫🤯 pic.twitter.com/wgA0G4QbsU
— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) January 10, 2024
The Grizzlies have yet to provide an official update on Smart’s status moving forward. Obviously, Memphis fans are hoping that the injury isn’t serious and that he won’t miss time because of the knock.
Smart finished Tuesday’s win with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, to go along with four treys, four rebounds, an assist, and two steals in just 21 minutes of play.
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