Trail Blazers' Ja Morant Out at Least Four Weeks With Grade 2 Left Hamstring Strain

By NBA Stat Desk How we produce articles

Portland announced that Ja Morant will be re-evaluated in four weeks after hurting his left hamstring in Thursday's 124-103 loss to Memphis, his former team, ending a promising start to his first season with the Blazers.

Trail Blazers' Ja Morant hit with brutal injury timeline after facing Grizzlies for first time — Yahoo Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers will be without Ja Morant for at least the next four weeks. The team announced Friday that imaging revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and that the guard will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Morant was hurt in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's 124-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center and did not return.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Morant is expected to miss at least four weeks. Because the re-evaluation is four weeks out, late November is the earliest realistic point at which a return could be considered. A Grade 2 strain generally indicates a partial tear of the muscle, and the team has not said when he might resume basketball activities.

How the injury happened

Thursday was Morant's first game against Memphis since the Grizzlies traded him to Portland. According to reports, he appeared to hurt the hamstring going for an offensive rebound around the midpoint of the fourth quarter. He tried to play through it before leaving. Coach Micah Nori said after the game that Morant felt a twinge in the hamstring and that he hoped to have more answers Friday.

Morant finished with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, two rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes. The loss was Portland's first of the season after a 3-0 start. Memphis improved to 5-0.

“This Is an Epidemic at This Point”: NBA Fans Frustrated as Ja Morant Becomes Latest Star Hit by Injury Bug — Yahoo Sports

A strong start interrupted

The timing makes the injury sting. Through four games in his first season with the Blazers, Morant was averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds, and he scored in double figures every night. Portland had won its first three games with him on the floor, and the reaction from fans centered on how well he and the team were playing when he went down.

The Blazers acquired Morant on June 29, sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis. The No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft was once viewed as a potential face of the league, but his career was disrupted by suspensions for off-court incidents and by injuries. Portland's bet is that a change of scenery could revive him. A month on the sideline is a setback to that project, though it says little about how the partnership will ultimately work. Four games is a small sample, and the early numbers are encouraging but not conclusive.

What it means for Portland's backcourt

Portland does have options. Reporting on the injury points to depth at guard, including two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday. The more intriguing question is what it means for Scoot Henderson. The fourth-year guard's role has shrunk considerably since Morant arrived, and Morant's absence opens minutes that Henderson would otherwise not see. That is analysis rather than a stated plan from the team, and Nori has not announced how the rotation will change.

Blazers Get Bad Injury News on Guard Ja Morant — Yahoo Sports

The bigger challenge may be identity. Morant is a high-usage creator, and without him the Blazers will have to find playmaking from a committee. Whether Holiday, Henderson and the other guards can maintain the early-season momentum will shape how Portland weathers November.

Part of a larger early-season injury wave

Morant joins a long list of prominent players already sidelined less than two weeks into the season. Among them are Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who is set to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to miss up to two months, along with Jalen Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, Kawhi Leonard, Paolo Banchero and Ben Simmons. Fans have reacted with frustration on social media, with one calling the run of injuries an epidemic.

That framing is a reaction rather than a finding. Each injury has its own cause, and the reports do not link them. Still, the cumulative effect is plain: several marquee names are missing from the early standings picture, and teams like Portland have to adjust sooner than they planned.

What to watch

The next checkpoint is the four-week re-evaluation. Until then, the key questions are how Nori restructures his guard rotation and whether the Blazers can stay competitive against a schedule that no longer includes their newest star. For Morant, the goal is to return healthy and rebuild the rhythm he had in the first week of the season. A hamstring strain can be a lingering issue, so the details of his rehabilitation will matter as much as the calendar.

Sources

All NBA news