MEMPHIS — Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was ruled out of Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers due to right hand soreness.
The Grizzlies announced an hour before tip-off that Morant, who has bruising in the soft tissue of the hand, would not play.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said during his pregame media availability that Morant is “feeling a little bit better” but that his status would not be determined until after his warmup routine. Morant did not take the FedExForum floor for his normal pregame routine.
“Obviously, the stuff that he did throughout the day is different than coming in right before the game — doing his warmup and then what he does in the back with our medical team, all the testing he is doing — grip, dribbling, all that stuff,” Jenkins said. “It’s just feeling confidence in that right hand. It’s kind of the final tests.”
X-rays after the Grizzlies’ loss in Game 1 on Sunday were negative. An MRI on Monday revealed an aggravation of soft tissue bruising in Morant’s hand. The injury was originally suffered in Memphis’ April 7 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but it was made worse when Morant used his right hand to break his fall after committing a charge against Lakers big man Anthony Davis in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Morant, who averaged 26.2 points and 8.1 assists per game during the regular season, did not return after aggravating the injury with 5:48 remaining in the fourth quarter Sunday. He said after the loss that he was in “a good bit of pain” and described his Game 2 availability as “in jeopardy.”
The Grizzlies consider Tyus Jones to be the NBA’s best backup point guard and have had success with him filling in for Morant as a starter. Memphis is 32-13 with Jones in the starting lineup over the past two seasons, including 13-9 this season.
The Grizzlies went 6-3 in the nine games Morant missed in March, when he served an eight-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league, allowing them to maintain their grip on the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed despite their superstar’s absence. Jones averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 assists and only 1.3 turnovers per game during that stretch.