The tank may be on for the Grizzlies, and Jaren Jackson Jr.’s injury status may be hinting at exactly that.
It has all gone downhill for the Memphis Grizzlies in a blink of an eye. Not only have did they lost Ja Morant to a season-ending shoulder injury, they also recently got the bad news that both Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane had suffered injuries that would keep them out for a minimum of six weeks. To make matters worse, leading up to the Grizzlies’ MLK Day contest against the Golden State Warriors, their injury woes continue pi
Jaren Jackson Jr. injury status vs. Warriors
Jaren Jackson Jr. missed the Grizzlies’ most recent game, a 106-94 loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday night, due to a right knee contusion. Of course, it’s important to note that the Grizzlies were on the second night of a back-to-back, and Jackson did log 30 minutes on Friday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Nonetheless, Jackson’s knee appears to be bothering him still, as according to the latest injury report the Grizzlies submitted, he is “questionable” for their MLK Day game against the Warriors due to the same issue.
Jackson hasn’t missed too many games for the Grizzlies this season; he played in the first 36 games of the season, back when Memphis was still hopeful of mounting a late-season playoff push, but he has now missed two of their past three games due to the same knee contusion that is threatening to keep him out of their next contest.
Due to how the Grizzlies’ season has turned out, there is no reason whatsoever for them to push Jaren Jackson Jr. to play through any sort of discomfort. With Ja Morant out for the rest of the season and both Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart likely to follow suit, the Grizzlies are likely to prioritize the future instead of risking adding another one of their most important players to the team’s plethora of injury woes.
If Jackson were to miss their upcoming game against the Warriors, expect Xavier Tillman Sr. to shoulder as heavy of a workload as he can handle, especially with Santi Aldama being listed as questionable as well.
