Ja Morant led the Memphis Grizzlies to a win over the Utah Jazz in their season opener without the ‘Robin’ to his ‘Batman. Jaren Jackson Jr suffered a low-grade hamstring injury ahead of training camp and was sidelined tonight as well. Morant had a few words to say to JJJ following the Grizz’s win.
Advertisement
“Hurry tf up,” said Morant. This was in response to Jaren showcasing how excited he was for Memphis to snag their first win of their potential comeback season on the very first game on their 82 game docket.
hurry tf up https://t.co/ED2fAC8g7N
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) October 24, 2024
The deadpan delivery of Morant’s tweet shouldn’t alarm any Grizzlies fans however. The two are close friends off the court and this type of banter is more than normal for the duo.
This doesn’t take away from the fact that Morant clearly wants his running mate to come back from injury faster and progress at a quicker rate. Without the defensive savant, Morant managed to drop a 22 and 10 double-double and ice the game with an incredibly nifty inside finish.
Ja Morant with an INCREDIBLE handle into finish
Puts the Grizzlies up 5 late in the 4Q on NBA League Pass!
https://t.co/n4DwiGAYgZ pic.twitter.com/SPCbaB9hNs
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2024
According to HC Taylor Jenkins, he’s much more likely to make his return ahead of Saturday’s home opener. He’s been progressing well and will be focusing on 5 on 5 work along with conditioning. Safe to say that a primed Ja Morant next to JJJ and Desmond Bane could lead to quite the bounce-back season for Memphis.
Ja Morant returned from injury tonight
The Memphis Grizzlies were decimated by injuries in 2023-24. Ja was not exempt from the injury bug as he had to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a labral tear suffered on his right shoulder in early January of 2024.
The tear took place during Grizzlies practice a couple days prior to the announcement that he would be out for the season. It was quite the disheartening moment for Memphis and crew given that Ja had just returned some time prior from his 25 game suspension to start off the season.
Fast-forward to present day and the Murray State hooped as though he’d never been injured a day in his life. Following the bout, he would go on to say, “I was just excited to be back out there. These guys trust and believe in me every time I’m out there on the floor, so it’s only right I go out there and play free.”
