Ja Morant suffers worrying-looking hand injury in playoff game against the Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant went straight to the locker room after a hard fall where he appeared to sustain a hand injury against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The injury occurred just under six minutes into the fourth quarter while the game was only four points apart.

Morant remained out for the rest of the fourth quarter as the Lakers would go on to win 128-112, with the absence of the Grizzlies star felt strongly by his teammates.

Before leaving with the injury, Morant had tallied 18 points, six rebounds and two assists while productively directing the Grizzlies as had been seen many times before.

According to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, Morant’s X-rays came back negative and the medical team was still evaluating his hand and wrist.

After suffering the injury, he got up and quickly ran to the dressing room to be treated

“He’s in some pain,” Jenkins said, as Morant was still being assessed by the medical staff.

Morant was already dealing with a hand injury that forced him to sit out the last two games of the regular season.

After the game, Morant said his standing for Game 2 was “at risk” as he struggled to use his right hand to untie a pair of rolled-up socks. He also said it “feels like it’s one thing after another.”

If the injury forces him to miss one, the Grizzlies have proven they are still capable of being a winning team without him.

Earlier this season, when Morant was suspended for “harmful conduct to the league” after displaying a gun live on his Instagram during a party at a strip club, the Grizzlies went 6-3 in his absence.

Although he faced a suspension that went back several games after willingly leaving the team for several days, neither the NBA nor the Colorado Police Department could find any laws or league rules he had actually broken.

When Morant missed an extended period of time last season due to injury, Memphis also went 20-5 as he recovered.

Despite this ability to win games without their best player, Memphis Morant would still miss and average the 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists he averaged during the regular season if he had to miss time.

Morant also recently made headlines out of court after suing the 17-year-old for making several allegations against him and his associates that likely played a role in the suspension, while also being instrumental in the unwarranted criticism and defamatory remarks that the All-NBA point guard has faced large sections of both the media and the general public.

Even with Morant out, Memphis has had success placing Tyus Jones in the staring five