Injuries are basketball’s biggest bummer, and we got hit with a one-two punch of them Monday night.
Just as we were processing a bad-looking hamstring injury for the Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, news broke that the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant will miss the rest of the season after surgery for a torn labrum. Throw in the usual profusion of ankle woes endemic to the sport (Jayson Tatum, Franz Wagner and LeBron James were among those affected in recent days), and it’s been quite a week.
In Memphis’ case, this at least resolves any lingering strategy questions the team might have heading into the trade deadline. Morant’s injury effectively ends any realistic hope of making the playoffs, a possibility that already seemed faint after the team’s 6-19 start. Memphis’ 7-4 run after Morant’s return from suspension revived the kernel of a chance the Grizzlies could sneak into the Play-In, but at 13-23, with an offense that is all but hopeless in Morant’s absence, the Grizzlies can now safely turn their focus to next season.
That doesn’t necessarily mean abject tanking, to be clear. Regardless, expect them to clear a roster spot in February to sign impact two-way Vince Williams to a standard contract that takes him through next season or beyond.
As for Indiana, Haliburton is dealing with a Grade I strain and seems likely to miss at least the next couple of weeks. That’s a tough blow for an Indiana team that has rode his emergence as a superstar to a surprising 21-15 start; the Pacers held on to top mighty Boston on Monday, but it’s hard to see them winning at anywhere near the same rate if they have to play an extended period without Haliburton.
The bigger-picture implication for the Pacers, then, is that any lengthy Haliburton absence is likely to cost them a shot at a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. A more provocative question is whether Haliburton’s injury will also impact Indiana’s choices at the trade deadline. The Pacers had been linked to Toronto’s Pascal Siakam and other power forwards on the trade market, but making any kind of deal to boost the present may make less sense now, especially since they can just sign players outright in the summer. Indiana will have max-ish cap room coming this summer if it declines a $23 million team option on Bruce Brown and could take the plunge on a player like Siakam or Tobias Harris in free agency, or make a trade into cap space for someone like Jerami Grant or Kyle Kuzma.
Finally, there’s the big picture for NBA fans. It’s a giant bummer to see two of the game’s most dynamic point guards get hurt on the same day, and a reminder that we need to appreciate these guys while they’re on the court. Injuries are part of the game, but I’m hoping this is the last column like this I’ll need to write this season.
