Casual bettors may not have been paying much attention to the NBA on Monday night as it was overshadowed by the Washington-Michigan college football national championship, but it was an awful night for the Association. The sport lost two of its most exciting players and maybe its two best point guards in Ja Morant and Tyrese Haliburton to injury. We don't know the full extent of Haliburton's malady yet, but Morant is done for the season. The surely deflated Grizzlies take the court Tuesday in Dallas as 9-point underdogs on the SportsLine consensus after opening at +4.5.
It was strange timing for the Grizzlies to announce in the middle of the title game that Morant was ruled out for the season after sustaining a labral tear in his right shoulder at a training session Saturday that will require surgery. We knew Morant was hurt as he missed Sunday's game in Phoenix, but that it was this serious was totally out of the blue.
Morant, a two-time All-Star, was suspended for the first 25 games of the season for off-the-court issues and the Grizzlies fell into an abyss with a 6-19 record in his absence. One of the great moments of this season so far was Morant's first game Dec. 19 at New Orleans as he led the Grizzlies back from a 24-point deficit to beat the Pelicans on a floater as time expired. Morant had 34 points in that game, the most in NBA history by a player coming back from an absence of at least 25 games.
The 24-year-old averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists over nine games before the injury. Memphis was 6-3 in those outings, looking very much like it could at least get into Western Conference play-in tournament.
The various sportsbooks are still adjusting to this news, but the Grizzlies are now +1100 longshots just to reach the play-in as they sit 13th in the West at 13-23 and are 4.5 games out of the final spot. This news could really help teams like the Lakers and Warriors, as they are struggling and might be relegated to battling for spots in the play-in tournament. Odd on Memphis making the playoffs aren't available for now, but considering the Grizz are now +50000 to win the West (only Portland and San Antonio have longer odds), maybe there won't be any.
Morant is now the second Memphis starter to undergo a season-ending surgery. Center Steven Adams will miss the campaign after undergoing surgery during the preseason to repair the PCL in his right knee. Forward Brandon Clarke has yet to play due to a serious injury that ended his 2022-23 season early. If there's one bright spot here, it's that the Grizzlies could now get a very high pick in the 2024 draft and be truly loaded next season.
Memphis likely will shift Marcus Smart over to point guard in place of Morant, while Desmond Bane should see a major spike in shot attempts. His over/under points total for Tuesday's game in Dallas has jumped to 26.5. The Grizzlies also could be without top big man and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. on Tuesday as he's questionable with a bruised knee. Jackson hasn't missed a game this season.
The Grizzlies are 2-0 on their current road trip and overcame double-digit deficits to win both. They have seven wins this season when facing a double-digit deficit. Memphis had a season-high 54 rebounds Sunday against the Suns to improve to 13-2 this season when grabbing as many rebounds as its opponent or more and 0-21 when beaten on the glass.
Dallas is listing Luka Doncic as questionable tonight but generally always lists him that way. The MVP candidate usually plays.
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