It's confirmed! Morant has suffered a shoulder sprain! Another NBA superstar with a glass body.
How many times has Morant been injured this season? During the recent Grizzlies 132-124 game against the Pelicans, he collided with Tais on his right shoulder while navigating a screen in the third quarter and immediately fell to the ground in pain.
The Grizzlies' official announcement revealed that Morant has been diagnosed with a first-degree sprain of the right shoulder acromioclavicular joint, which will be monitored weekly.
It's worth noting that last season, Morant missed the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, playing only nine games and averaging 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game.
This season, although Morant hasn't suffered a season-ending injury, he has been plagued by minor injuries, causing him to play intermittently. So far, he has played in 20 out of 33 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 27.7 minutes per game, contributing 21.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.1 steals, with shooting percentages of 45.4% and 32.3%.
The Grizzlies have already implemented strict injury management for Morant, limiting his average playing time to just 27.7 minutes per game, with very few instances of playing over 30 minutes in a single game. However, it's hard to control his explosive style of play, as his average inside scoring (10.4 points) accounts for more than half of his total points.
Perhaps Edwards could be a good example for Morant, as he has been averaging 4 made three-pointers at a 41.1% shooting rate this season, with three-point attempts (9.8 times) accounting for half of his total shots (20.1 times). Although his average inside scoring is only 7.4 points, his average total points can still reach 24.9, along with 5.6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Morant is expected to miss some time due to his injury, which benefits Yuki Nishimura. The latter is likely to get more playing opportunities in the upcoming games. In the most recent match against the Thunder, he scored 10 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and provided 3 assists in just 11 minutes, shooting 4-for-5 from the field (2-for-3 from three-point range), earning praise from his opponent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Yuki Nishimura's total career points in NBA regular-season games have reached 24, matching Zhou Qi's career total. He is also the third Japanese player after Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe to score double digits in an NBA game.
Standing at just 1.72 meters, Yuki Nishimura, who is of average height, continues to perform miracles, demonstrating that a small body can contain immense energy!