Ja Morant seemed to be rebuilding his career in his first four games with the Trail Blazerswhat makes time him left hamstring injury especially sorry, he writes Bill Oram of The Oregonian. Morant was injured in Thursday’s game and will not be reevaluated for another four weeks.
Oram says losing Morant could interrupt the early season momentum for both him and the team. His time in Memphis ended due to repeated injuries, off-the-court issues and clashes with the coaching staff, but he fit in nicely as Portland acquired him in a trade over the summer. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 assists in the first three games, with the Blazers winning each.
“I think what he sees here is that he’s at a good football club with a lot of good strikers and he doesn’t have to do everything.” coach Mika Nori said. Norrie was sure that Morant would adapt to the new environment, but he was surprised by the ease of the transition.
Oram notes that the good news is that Morant won’t need surgery and there’s a chance he’ll be back on the court by the end of November. However, seeing him go out so quickly with a major injury raises durability issues that could derail the team’s season.
There’s more from Portland:
- Scoot Henderson took Morant’s place in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against Utah, trans Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Freeman explains that Nori chose to keep Jrue’s holiday with the second unit because he doesn’t want to be tempted to give extended minutes to Holiday or the 36-year-old guard Damian Lillard. Henderson, headed to restricted agency, had 14 points, three rebounds, three steals and four turnovers in 31 minutes. Freeman says he was considered the team’s “training camp MVP” and now has an opportunity to increase his value ahead of next summer’s contract negotiations.
- Danny Audio has been overshadowed by several offseason storylines, but he continues to be a cornerstone of the franchise, Freeman argues in the same piece. He notes that having Lillard and Morant in the backcourt created more space for Audia and led to a significant improvement in his offensive efficiency early in the season.
- Vit Krejci also had an expanded role with the unavailability of Marant, who played a season-high 24 minutes Saturday, notes A simple SI number. The 26-year-old guard has worked his way into the rotation since being acquired from Atlanta in February, but has played sparingly this season.
