What the fear and relief of Ja Morant's knee injury mean for the Memphis Grizzlies | Giannotto

Ja Morant was shooting 3-pointers at FedExForum again Thursday morning without a knee brace on, a sight nobody expected so soon one week after he crumpled on that same court from a non-contact knee injury.

The absence of the current star of the Memphis Grizzlies will indeed be measured in weeks, not months. His quest to become an All-Star for the first time should not be derailed by this setback. The Grizzlies, particularly after reeling off three wins in a row without Morant, shouldn’t be adversely affected in the Western Conference standings.

This is, given the outlook last Friday when Morant tweeted asking for prayers and his teammates looked visibly shaken, about as close to an ideal outcome as could have been expected.

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But those moments of dread immediately after the injury, and the reprieve felt just from seeing Morant taking part in even limited workouts, also offer a chance to reflect. On what happened, what didn’t happen and the greater implications of this short-lived, but nonetheless traumatic experience involving the first NBA superstar to play in Memphis.

More so than the national Nike campaign that debuted a few days before Morant’s sprained knee occurred, this event showed just how important this one player has become for the franchise.

He sets the tone for the entire organization. Be it on the court with his flashy dunks, sublime passes, under-appreciated court sense and knack for rising up when the team needs him most. Or off it, where his catchphrases become the team’s catchphrases and his demeanor becomes the demeanor the rest of his teammates take on.

This embrace, both from Memphis to Morant and Morant to Memphis, was featured in that “Says Who?” Nike advertisement that shined a light on the city in a way that felt meaningful. Not just because it seemed like an homage to the one-of-a-kind culture here. It made Morant’s brand inseparable from Memphis, and it’s obvious he wanted it that way.

That’s significant whenever the conversation surrounding Morant and Memphis inevitably evolves into wondering how long this partnership between star and franchise can last. But ultimately, Morant is more important to the Grizzlies’ success than the Grizzlies are to Morant’s success over the long haul.

It’s a reality last week’s injury scare re-emphasized, even after Memphis and Morant became inseparable on NBA telecasts through Nike. To consider the Grizzlies without Morant is to consider an enterprise that would look and feel entirely different.

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None of this, not the development of Jaren Jackson Jr. or the emergence of Desmond Bane or the ascension of Dillon Brooks, matters if Morant isn’t part of their development, emergence or ascension. The plans for this franchise, whether it be the players it accumulated along with Morant in recent years or the assets it could deploy in the coming years, are entirely predicated on the Grizzlies already having their star in the fold.

Same goes for the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic, who the Grizzlies play Saturday night. Look down the Mississippi River to Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans for proof of how this existence can get flipped so quickly, with one twinge of the knee or, in Williamson’s case, a broken bone in the foot.

This is simply part of the opportunity cost associated with landing a player like Morant, a player who can carry an entire organization to heights it could only imagine before he arrived.

When he soars, there’s joy. When he falls, there’s fear. And when he gets up again, when he’s smiling and laughing and shooting 3-pointers and tweeting that he’ll be “back soon,” like Morant did over the past week, there’s relief.

Other Grizzlies thoughts

1. Morant’s presence in Memphis also felt notable in the context of Thursday’s NBA-record 152-79 blowout of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Among the many enjoyable aspects of that game, from Santi Aldama’s franchise-record plus/minus (+52) to John Konchar’s poster-worthy dunk to set the franchise record for points in a game to the sheer absurdity of “defense” chants inside FedExForum when the Grizzlies led by 70, was that Memphis chose not to rebuild the way Oklahoma City is attempting to rebuild.

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Perhaps that’s simply a function of picking Morant when Memphis did, right after it traded Marc Gasol and Mike Conley in 2019. But the Grizzlies’ decision to not tank, to attempt to thread the needle between remaining competitive and stockpiling draft picks and assets for the future, is so much more noble than Oklahoma City’s decision to throw away multiple seasons.

Yes, the Thunder were without their best player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and best prospect (Josh Giddey) Thursday. But they are actively attempting to lose games even when those two are playing.

They have 19 first-round draft picks over the next five years. Maybe, it’ll work. Maybe one of those selections will turn into another star alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City basketball fans will look back on this endeavor as worthwhile. But who wants to pay money to see the product in the meantime?

Teams that choose to go this route, that elect to go into a season without any incentive to win, do a disservice to the game. Fans deserve better, even if that fourth quarter in Memphis Thursday night was as compelling as garbage time gets in the NBA.

2. Morant’s injury has also shined a light on how well Jackson is playing. He has been the Grizzlies’ best defensive player all season, and now his multi-dimensional offensive output and general consistency are getting more notice as well.

Though his production was trending upward before Morant left the lineup, he’s averaging 19.2 points on nearly 50% shooting overall and 40.5% from 3-point range. He’s also one of seven players in the NBA averaging more than two blocks per game.

Jackson’s long-term upside is often associated with his outside shooting, but a key change he made after a slow start to the season seems to be using his skills inside the arc more.

In October, he was attempting just 4.3 shots per game from within 10 feet of the basket and only connecting on only 30.8% of those attempts. Since the beginning of November, he’s attempting 6.3 shots per game from within 10 feet and scoring on 51.5% of those shots.

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3. Third-year forward Brandon Clarke might be the biggest beneficiary of Jackson’s versatility. Clarke has returned to a regular rotation role over the past month largely because of how effective he is coming off the bench and playing alongside Jackson in the Grizzlies’ front court.

The Grizzlies have a +14.4 NET rating when Clarke and Jackson play together, behind only Brooks and Jackson in terms of the team’s most effective two-man combinations this season.

But while Clarke is producing more for the Grizzlies, and more in line with his promising rookie season, it might be a credit to doing less.

“I think that he’s in a much better place just as a human being than he was last year,” Bane said of Clarke. “I think he had a good offseason and he has a good idea of who he is as a player now. Last year, trying to expand his game and stuff, but I think when he really sticks to what he does and what he’s good at, he’s really good for us.”

It’s no coincidence Clarke is currently shooting a career-best 67% on two-point attempts, a far cry from the 56.5% he finished with during a disappointing 2020-21 season that left him on the outside of the rotation during the team’s playoff run.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What the fear and relief of Ja Morant's knee injury mean for the Memphis Grizzlies