Ja Morant's Season Is Over As The Grizzlies' Season From Hell Continues

Kevin C. Cox. Getty Images.

Well shit! 

Listen, if Grizzlies fans want to call this the season as hell, nobody should stop them. There's bad injury luck and then there's what the Grizzlies and their fans have had to endure. Brandon Clarke's achilles, Steven Adams out for the year, Luke Kennard in and out of the lineup, Smart missed a chunk of time with an ankle injury. Ever since the season got underway they've been snake bitten worse than any other team in the league. All you can do is feel bad for their fans for what is most likely now officially a lost season. They made it through the Ja suspension and actually had found new life. The Grizzlies had won 3 of 4, just beat both the Lakers and Suns on the road, and found themselves only 4.5 out of the final Play In Spot.

It was always going to take a miracle run, but they looked so much better with Ja that at least you could entertain the idea. Now? No chance. As much as I love Marcus Smart and think Desmond Bane and JJJ are awesome, you can't lose one of your most important players for the season in Steven Adams and then lose your franchise and best player in the same season in Ja Morant and then make the type of climb that would be required of MEM if they were to get back into Play In contention. It'd be awesome if they did, but the West is too good (barring other crazy injuries). That's not a realistic ask in my opinion given we already saw what they looked like without Ja to start the year. 

So not only does it suck that the Grizzlies season is now pretty much over, it sucks that we as fans won't be able to watch Ja Morant at all. We got a total of 9 games from Morant in 2023-24, and what a 9 games they were

The question now becomes what the Grizzlies do at the deadline. No point in not being sellers and trying to get some assets for next season once everyone's back, and they do have some movable pieces. Santi Aldama, Derrick Rose, John Konchar, Luke Kennard, Xavier Tillman, they could fetch you something. You hold onto Smart/Bane/JJJ/Adams/Morant and see what next year looks like.

It sucks, but that's really their only path. Again, I'd love for this to spark some sort of crazy Ewing Theory type run, but I just don't see it. May as well collect some assets, give Smart and Bane the greenest of green lights and pick things back up next fall.