The Grizzlies will be shorthanded when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at FedexForum.
Ja Morant is listed as questionable with a right deltoid (shoulder) contusion. Scotty Pippen Jr. (left toe soreness), Santi Aldama (right calf soreness) and John Konchar (right knee soreness) are also questionable as well.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who left Monday’s game with an ankle injury, is listed as out with an ankle sprain. He is considered week-to-week with a Grade 2 ankle sprain, the Grizzlies announced Tuesday evening.
Memphis has lost three games in a row (all at home), but Morant has missed the last two with shoulder soreness. He has yet to play in more than five consecutive games this season. Aldama also missed Monday’s game.
Jackson suffered the ankle injury during the first quarter of Monday’s loss to the Hawks. He did not return.\
The Thunder — the top team in the Western Conference by 11 games — are 2-0 against the Grizzlies this season, and neither game was close. Wednesday’s game concludes a five-game homestand for Memphis.
The Memphis Grizzlies are in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 38-23 record, continuing to succeed despite a handful of injuries weighing them down. Star point guard Ja Morant has already missed 24 games this season, and now All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. is set to miss extended time.
Just two minutes into Monday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Jackson Jr. went down with an ankle injury and would not return to the game. On Tuesday, the Grizzlies released a statement about Jackson Jr.’s injury.
“Jackson Jr. has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain, which he sustained in the first quarter of the Grizzlies’ game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 3. He is considered week-to-week, and further updates will be provided as appropriate,” Grizzlies PR announced.
Jackson Jr. has not missed a game since the first two contests of the 2024-25 season, and now the Grizzlies will have to adjust to playing without him for the near future.
Jackson Jr. is averaging 22.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game this season, making another case for a Defensive Player of the Year campaign. Jackson Jr. won the award in the 2022-23 season, cementing himself as one of the league’s top defenders, but now continues to improve his offensive game as well.
The Grizzlies have already lost three consecutive games and six of their last eight, so adjusting with Jackson Jr. out of the lineup is the priority for Memphis moving forward.
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