Ja MorantPortland’s hot start was marred by a left hamstring injury, according to The Trail Blazers (Link to Twitter), who announced today that the star point guard was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain after imaging.
According to the team, Morant is who was injured on Thursday in his first game against his former team, the Grizzlies – will be reevaluated in four weeks. This schedule suggests he will be out for most of November.
After being limited to 79 games over the last three seasons in Memphis mostly due to injuries, Morant was traded from the Grizzlies to the Trail Blazers in June and entered this fall healthy. He’s been more like his old self in his first three games with the Blazers (all wins), averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 assists in 27.0 minutes per contest, posting a strong .588/.444/.833 slash line.
After that strong start, a hamstring injury marked a disappointing setback for Marant and the 3-1 Blazers, who are also missing another guard, Shaedon Sharpthanks to a meniscus tear.
The good news for Portland is that the team still has solid backcourt depth. Security veteran Jrue’s holiday likely to enter the starting line-up together Damian Lillardwith Scoot Henderson continues to play a key role from the bench. Vit Krejci struggled in a limited role early in the game, but could be a candidate for more regular minutes while Morant remains on the shelf.
Given that four weeks is the time Morant will be reevaluated and not a target date for his return, he could miss more time after that, according to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes (Link to Twitter), since 2005, the average missed time for an NBA player with a Grade 2 hamstring strain is 34.7 days.
If Morant misses five weeks (ie 35 days) of play, he would be out for Portland’s next 18 games and expected to return in early December.
