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In the words of the great comic Dave Chappelle, “Where is Ja?” But of course, for the Memphis Grizzlies, that means a little different now. They can live their life to the fullest on the basketball court without Ja Rule. But Ja Morant? That's another story. Unquestionably the most valuable player on the team, Morant is dealing with a knee injury he sustained in Game 3's 142-112 road loss to the Golden State Warriors and will likely be not be available to play this Monday night at Chase Center for Game 4 of this Western Conference semifinals series. It's tough to beat a team like the Warriors even with a fully healthy roster, and it's about to get harder for the Grizzlies if Morant gets ultimately sidelined for at least the next game. All that being said, these Grizzlies have shown the capability to play at a high level and pick up wins sans Morant, who is averaging 38.3 points, 8.3 assists, and 6.7 rebounds in the series. He is also connecting on 43.3 percent of his 3-pointers. His loss is a huge one for the Grizzlies, to say the least.
But according to StatMuse, the Grizzlies went 20-5 back in the regular season in games without the former Murray State Racers star. Memphis needs the non-Morant guys to pick up the slack and elevate its usual play in Game 4 if the Grizzlies are to take down the Warriors and avoid a dreaded 3-1 series deficit. With that said, here are three Grizzlies players who must step up while Morant waits for his body to be alright.
3 Grizzlies who must step up after Ja Morant's injury
3. Tyus Jones
Morant's backup is an obvious choice, as Jones is about to be given a bigger role as the Grizzlies' temporary no. 1 point guard. Jones has a case for being the best backup PG in the NBA today, and Memphis is lucky it has him on the roster. The former Duke Blue Devils star is a winner himself, having won a national title in college, and while he doesn't have a lot of what Morant can bring to the table, especially in terms of athleticism, explosiveness, and just the ability to break down a defender — or defenders — with sheer talent, he is someone who can raise the offense of his team whenever he's on the floor.
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Jones is averaging just 17.8 minutes per game thus far in the playoffs and scoring just 7.0 points to go with 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, but those numbers should rise without Morant. He is always a plus player who is constantly a threat from deep and has an eye for opening up scoring opportunities for teammates. He also rarely turns the ball over; he averaged just 1.4 turnovers per 100 possessions back in the regular season. In other words, Jones is a game manager the Grizzlies can trust to keep their heads above water offensively.
2. Brandon Clarke
Among all Grizzlies players in the second round, Clarke owns the worst plus-minus rating at minus-11.7. That's a surprise, considering how terrific he was in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves in which he posted a plus-5.8 — second overall. He was not decent at all in Game 3, scoring just four points and grabbing only two boards in 17 minutes of action. Even with that short time on the floor, Clarke was able to end up with a minus-24, which goes to show how bad it went for the versatile forward.
1. Desmond Bane
With or without Morant, Bane has to start showing more signs of life. Morant's absence only amplifies that need for the Grizzlies, who are getting just 10.0 points average through three games in the second round. Over that same span, Bane only shot 37.0 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the foul line. Back in the first round against Minnesota, Bane was a whole lot more solid. In six games versus those pesky Timberwolves, Bane even led the team with 23.5 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 49.1 percent from downtown. If only the Grizzlies could see him get that hot again…
Bane, however, seems to be on the right track, though. After coming up with just a grand total of 14 points in Games 1 and 2 of the Golden State series, Bane produced his strongest performance yet in the matchup by churning out 16 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-point attempts in Game 3. He should see a lot more shots in Game 4, as he should be among the top beneficiaries of Morant's absence in terms of upticks in scoring chances.
