As soon as Ja Morant returned to the court, another injury set him back.
Morant will miss the Memphis Grizzlies’ home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday due to a UCL sprain in his left elbow.
The Grizzlies’ two-time All-Star admitted he had a ways to go upon returning from his latest injury absence. Morant missed six consecutive games earlier in the month with a right calf contusion.
He returned to lead the Grizzlies to a victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday in London and made his home return Wednesday in a 124-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Morant led the Grizzlies with 23 points and 12 assists against the Hawks, but said he must be better if Memphis is to turn things around and make a playoff push. He wasn’t thrilled with the five turnovers he committed, or how Wednesday’s game ended with him in position for a potential game-winning shot only to momentarily lose control of the ball.
Morant’s hurried 3-pointer had a chance but bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
“I don’t think that last play is the reason we lost the game,” Morant said. “It is what it is. I had a lot of turnovers that put us in that position. It’s a lot of other things we could’ve changed.
“If you want to talk about that possession, I could’ve let Jaylen (Wells) drive it up, we could’ve called timeout, I could’ve passed the ball, I could’ve found a better shot, but we’re on the other side of it. So it’s over.”
To coach Tuomas Iisalo, the causes for the Grizzlies’ up-and-down season and difficulty defending big leads are multiple, including the parity around the league.
“We have a relatively young team,” Iisalo said. “We have missed a lot of our primary creators or our primary screeners in that situation. We’ve been at our best in the transition game. In those situations that’s not often available, or the game slows down and you have to be able to execute in the half court, not just offensively but also defensively.”
The Grizzlies have lost eight of their past 11 games, most of those without Morant.
As for the Pelicans, they are struggling, too, having lost 14 of 16. New Orleans dropped a 112-104 decision to the Detroit Pistons in a game where they found themselves down by double digits in the early going. The Pelicans have fallen behind by double digits in the first quarter in three of their past four games.
“It’s tough to play from behind every night,” New Orleans interim head coach James Borrego said. “At some point that (starting) group has to make a stand or I’ve got to pivot.”
In their defense, the Pelicans dealt with injuries and illness against the Pistons.
Zion Williamson was questionable before Wednesday’s game because of an illness, but started. He was unable to play at a high level, retreated to the locker room in the third quarter and did not return.
“He battled through illness,” Borrego said of Williamson. “He gave us his best shot.”
Williamson is not listed on the injury report ahead of Friday’s game.
The Pelicans have been without Herb Jones (right ankle sprain) and backup point guard Jose Alvarado (left oblique strain) for the past eight games. Jones has missed 15 of the last 16 games but is questionable on New Orleans’ injury report. Alvarado is out.
