As part of the Memphis victory Wednesday night, Ja Morant celebrated the first points of his new friend Yuki Kawamura’s NBA career hopping on one leg.
It wasn’t part of a new celebratory dance, a Griddy 2.0 if you will. It was because Morant got injured during the game with the Los Angeles Lakers. It is his hip this time - and it will mean he will at least miss tonight’s contest with the Washington Wizards. And perhaps even more time than that.
So add Morant’s name to a long, but distinguished, injury report that already includes Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and more.
What gives? Ja has openly discussed dunking less to try to protect his body. Memphis has revamped their training staff. The team has to be aware of how the health and availability of their players has derailed their goals over the last year.
It isn’t like they are trying to keep their rotation unstable. And yet, here we are, trying to figure out how we got to a place where going in to Friday night’s game half the projected regular season rotation in the preseason got out of the rotation due to injury.
Could it be the much-analyzed increased pace of the Grizzlies this season? An increased pace means more plays and reps, but literally/physically also means more steps. Is the roster over-taxed from the installment of this new-look offense?
Maybe it’s as simple as the way Memphis practices overall. The coaching staff has also undergone a lot of change, but Head Coach Taylor Jenkins and his structure remains a constant. Is the team working too hard? Or could it be they’re not working hard enough?
The 39-year-old LeBron James played in the Olympics this past summer and is logging major minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers now. While LeBron is a physical specimen and perhaps the greatest of all time, at his advanced basketball age for him to log 35 minutes a game and compete how he does flies in the face of the Grizzlies philosophy.
25-year-olds, meanwhile, are often on minutes restrictions in Memphis. That seems like a bridge too far.
The Grizzlies organization takes great pride in zigging while the rest of the NBA zags. It makes them unique in a market that makes it necessary. They have to build through the draft. They must prioritize finding diamonds in the rough and investing in them early with team-friendly deals. It works for them in a lot of ways.
But there has to be real reflection on how the team handles their players and their usage. Preparing for the grind of an 82-game season is an extremely difficult task. But over the last year or so, no team has struggled with keeping their roster healthy the way Memphis has.
If it’s not the players themselves, and it’s not the training staff, perhaps it is time to look at how the coaches are preparing them day to day.
