Nov 22, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) reacts to a play late in the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Ja Morant has become one of the most fun players in the NBA but the Grizzlies’ young star left Friday night’s game against the Hawks with a leg injury.
Still in the early parts of the 2021-22 NBA season, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been making a bid to be considered among the young superstars in the league. Coming into Friday’s matchup against the Hawks, Morant was averaging an impressive 25.3 points, 7.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals as he clearly made a leap.
Subsequently, fans of the Grizzlies and of the NBA in general were ready to see the continued ascension of Morant. Unfortunately, the guard was involved in a bit of a scary scene in the game against Atlanta.
In the first half on what appeared to be a mundane play, Morant pulled up hobbled with a non-contact left leg injury and had to be helped to the back after spending a few minutes on the court in clear pain.
Ja Morant injury: Non-contact injury a scary thought for fans
Whenever NBA fans see a non-contact injury, it’s hard not to immediately think the worst about the situation.
In the case of how we saw Ja Morant go down and the obvious pain the young Memphis guard was in — and even though Bally Sports called it an ankle injury — the first pessimistic thought is that it was something with a ligament in his knee or his Achilles.
Let’s hope that neither is the case with Morant and that the injury he suffered only looked scary but is only minor in severity. Fans should want to see him on the court and any ailment that prevents that from happening is highly unfortunate and, frankly, unwelcome.