Ja Morant will have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Monday night. Morant had an underlying labral tear that was revealed after an MRI. Morant, who returned from a 25-game suspension for multiple instances of brandishing a gun, was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for December 18 to 24. The Memphis is 13th in the Western Conference with a 13-23 record.
This veteran team has been dealt blow after blow. The franchise has won seven of the past 11 games since Morant returned, with the All-Star guard finding his footing despite missing the first 25 games of the season. Memphis had all the tools to mount a second half surge in the Western Conference. With Morant now being out for the rest of the year, and starting center Steven Adams going down with a season-ending injury, the team is forced to face a sobering reality. The equation of the playoffs and even Play-In was always going to be a difficult one for the Grizzlies, needing to have a perfect finish over the final 46 regular season games to even give them a chance at dancing. There were still questions that remained unanswered even after Morant's return, particularly with Memphis' roster depth at the wings and in the frontcourt. The return of Marcus Smart andLuke Kennard, as uplifting as they might be for the coach, simply aren't enough to paper over the cracks of a Morant-less team. This is still a talented enough unit to catch a contender slipping, but without the heart and soul of this organization, the Memphis Grizzles are better served to consolidate and look ahead to the future.
Required reading.