UPDATE: Per Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo, Ja Morant is out for Saturday’s contest.
The Memphis Grizzlies trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-0 in their first-round NBA Playoffs series after blowing a 20-plus point lead in Thursday night’s Game 3. The situation in Memphis now goes from bad to worse as their star point guard will be sidelined for Game 4 on Saturday.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Ja Morant will miss Game 4 due to a hip injury suffered on Thursday.
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant will miss Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday due to a hip injury, sources tell ESPN. Morant played through a significant ankle sprain to clinch a playoff spot last week, then suffered a scary fall on his hip Thursday. https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1915853539340956034/photo/1
– @ShamsCharania on X, 4/25/25
Morant’s absence might be a death knell for a Grizzlies squad which has floundered over their three playoff games against the Thunder. Memphis lost Game 1 by 51 points before dropping Game 2 by 19. Despite holding a significant lead at one point in Game 3, they eventually fell in a six-point loss to go down three games to none.
Morant himself hasn’t quite performed up to par across this series. His stat lines across the Grizzlies’ first two games included 17 points and four assists on 6-of-10 shooting in Game 1, followed by 23 points and six assists in Game 2 while shooting just 10-of-25 from the field. However, he did play well in Game 3 with 15 points and five dimes on 6-of-11 shooting before exiting the contest after just 16 minutes.
With Morant out, rookie Jaylen Wells likely steps in as the primary point guard while Scotty Pippen Jr. could see additional minutes at guard. The offense running through either in a do-or-die playoff scenario feels unlikely, though, so Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane are likely in line for increased shot volume as the Grizzlies fight off elimination.
