The Memphis Grizzlies are back in action Tuesday night, facing off against the Milwaukee Bucks in their second game of the exhibition slate. Don't read too much into results from these new-look teams' matchup in Memphis, though, and not just because both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are sitting out for Milwaukee. The Grizzlies, playing without the suspended Ja Morant, are also still awaiting Marcus Smart's Memphis debut.
Smart is sidelined once again on Tuesday after missing his team's preseason opener with a core injury. While coach Taylor Jenkins downplayed the extent of Smart's malady before tipoff, there's also still no concrete timeline for the former Defensive Player of the Year to get back on the floor.
“It's day-to-day. It's kind of light core work right now,” he said of Smart's current status, per team reporter Michael Wallace. “Just being smart, anticipate a little bit more ramp up as week goes on.”
Smart sat out of of the Grizzlies' 127-122 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday with the same injury. After he also missed Memphis' open practice 24 hours earlier, Jenkins described the veteran guard's injury as “nothing serious.”
Marcus Smart's importance to Grizzlies in 2023-24
There's no reason to believe the discomfort Smart feels in his midsection will linger into the regular season. All signs point to him making his Grizzlies debut before the team's preseason schedule ends on October 20th in Milwaukee. Considering Morant's 25-game absence to start the season and the tandem summer departures of Tyus Jones and Dillon Brooks, though, Smart's injury is nevertheless one that deserves to be closely monitored over the next couple weeks.
Acquired in a three-team trade that landed Kristaps Porzingis with the Boston Celtics and sent Jones to the Washington Wizards, Smart is effectively tasked with serving as the Grizzlies' primary floor general and top perimeter defender until Morant returns from suspension some time in late December. That's a tall task for any player, but especially a 29-year-old whose game relies on physicality and hustle and hasn't been able to consistently shake the injury bug in recent seasons.
Nagging injuries limited Smart to 61 games in his Boston swan song, and he appeared in a career-low 48 games in 2020-21. Smart is among the most indispensable players on Memphis' roster, set to fill multiple major roles whether or not Morant is available. The Grizzlies don't have another top-tier stopper of guards and wings on the roster, while the aging Derrick Rose—who fell out of Tom Thibodeau's rotation with the New York Knicks last season—is their only other point guard beyond Morant.
Keep a close eye on Smart's status leading up to Memphis' regular-season opener on October 25th. Missing a chunk of the preseason due to minor injury is no death-knell, but hardly a positive indicator of Smart managing to stay healthy throughout 2023-24.
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