Memphis star point guard Ja Morant will miss his third straight contest when the Grizzlies visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
After missing two games due to his ailing right shoulder, Morant will miss this contest due to a left hamstring injury.
Morant’s absence means Desmond Bane can lead the way again after he poured in season bests of 44 points and seven 3-pointers in Monday’s 132-122 road loss against the Sacramento Kings.
Bane was 15 of 25 from the field and didn’t miss a single 3-point attempt or a single free throw. He fell five points shy of his career high achieved against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 6, 2023.
Memphis (43-26) had won five of its previous six games before losing to the Kings and is in a virtual tie for fourth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We don’t try to put too much of a magnifying glass on any one result,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “A win isn’t going to dictate everything, a loss isn’t going to dictate everything. We have to think about the whole 48 minutes and how our process looks like.”
Memphis is just one game behind the two teams in second place in the West — the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets.
Though it’s important to finish as high as possible, Jenkins said he doesn’t want everybody constantly checking the standings.
“Having the right balance that we are the priority and making sure we are the best version of ourselves is the thing we can control,” Jenkins said.
The Grizzlies twice knocked off the Trail Blazers in November, winning 134-89 in Portland and prevailing 123-98 at home. Wednesday’s game is the final one between the teams this season.
Portland (30-39) has won its past two games and stands 2-1 on a make-or-break seven-game homestand. Following the game against Memphis, the Trail Blazers will face the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Trail Blazers are three games behind the 10th-place Dallas Mavericks for the final playoff spot in the West. The Phoenix Suns are in 11th place and one game behind Dallas.
Anfernee Simons scored 30 points to lead Portland to a 112-97 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Monday. The 30-point outing was Simons’ fifth of the month.
“We played well,” Simons said. “We got up, we sustained it and we were able to pull away.”
Simons understands the situation facing the Trail Blazers.
“We got some work to do because nobody in the West is losing,” Simons said. “We’ve got to string together some wins. Whether that’s going against Memphis or Cleveland or Boston. We got to get through these teams to get where we want.”
Portland’s Mattise Thybulle had five steals in his second game of the season on Monday. He underwent knee surgery before the season and later sustained an ankle injury that threatened to keep him from playing this season.
But now he has seven steals in two games while reminding everyone why he is considered a top-notch defender.
“I love what I saw out of him,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “It was regular âTisse. He’s all over the place. He’s trying to get his feet under him. It’s been a long time since he played.”
Jerami Grant (knee) is doubtful and fellow forward Toumani Camara (calf) is questionable.
