{"id":274226,"date":"2025-04-16T11:26:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T11:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/hobbled-ja-morant-reminds-grizzlies-coach-of-isiah-thomas-finals-heroics-against-magic-johnsons-showtime-lakers\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:08:51","slug":"hobbled-ja-morant-reminds-grizzlies-coach-of-isiah-thomas-finals-heroics-against-magic-johnsons-showtime-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/16\/hobbled-ja-morant-reminds-grizzlies-coach-of-isiah-thomas-finals-heroics-against-magic-johnsons-showtime-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hobbled Ja Morant reminds Grizzlies coach of Isiah Thomas\u2019 finals heroics against Magic Johnson\u2019s Showtime Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"4877296\" data-slug-id=\"2476490\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staticd.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Memphis Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo was impressed to see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/ja-morant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Ja Morant<\/a> come back to finish Tuesday\u2019s game against the Warriors. Morant landed awkwardly when he stepped on Buddy Hield\u2019s foot and tweaked his ankle. This took place during the third quarter, but Ja came back to finish the game with his team before being taken off with 3:44 in the fourth.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking after the game, Iisalo mentioned that Morant\u2019s return to the floor reminded him of Pistons legend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/isiah-thomas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Isiah Thomas<\/a>, who did something similar against Magic Johnson\u2019s Showtime Lakers during the 1988 Finals. He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSeeing him in that situation, to me, that generation that still remembers Isiah Thomas hopping around on one ankle,&#8221; Iisalo said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"bets-today-poll\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"preview-card-holder bets-today-poll\">\n<p><span class=\"date\"\/> \u2022 <span class=\"time\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"march-madness-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/staticd.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/march-madness-logo.png\" height=\"42\" width=\"99\" alt=\"march madness logo\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t quite that. Hopefully it&#8217;s not as severe. I have no information on that. It was inspiring, and I think it also lifted the guys up to see that your leader is putting it all on the line.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, Morant\u2019s return to the floor wasn\u2019t enough to inspire his team to victory. The Grizzlies lost 116-121 and failed to contain Steph Curry and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/jimmy-butler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Jimmy Butler<\/a>, who combined to score 75 points.<\/p>\n<p>Morant had a solid game, recording 22 points, three assists and three rebounds. Desmond Bane was Memphis\u2019 best player and finished his night with 30 points, six rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n<h2>\u201cI\u2019m playing\u201d: Ja Morant on his availability for the Grizzlies&#8217; upcoming play-in tournament game<\/h2>\n<p>Ja Morant was hobbling on his leg until the end of Tuesday\u2019s game against the Warriors. Now, the Memphis Grizzlies will face either the Dallas Mavericks or the Sacramento Kings, depending on who wins between the two on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking after the game against the Warriors, Morant gave a straight answer when asked about his availability for the next game, despite not being in the best shape.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI&#8217;m playing,&#8221; Morant said. &#8220;That&#8217;s basically the answer I&#8217;m giving. It ain&#8217;t nothing different.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Having Ja Morant on the floor makes the Grizzlies better by a mile. Unfortunately, this has been a tough season for Morant, as he has only made 50 appearances.<\/p>\n<p>He also posted his lowest points average since the 2021-22 season. He recorded 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game this season. Memphis will need him at his best if they hope to win Saturday\u2019s game and advance to the playoffs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticd.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticd.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-author-info-parent\">\n<span class=\"about-the-author\">About the author<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-pic-holder\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"author-pic\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,&lt;svg width=\" height=\"100\"\/><rect width=\"100\" height=\"100\" style=\"fill:rgb(128, 128, 128);\"\/>&#8221; data-lazy=&#8221;https:\/\/keedag.sportskeeda.com\/user-pic\/2075751-1732968679-200.jpg?w=200&#8243;<br \/>\nalt=&#8221;Sameer Khan&#8221; height=&#8221;72&#8243; width=&#8221;72&#8243;&gt;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-bio-detail-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p class=\"author-bio\" id=\"author-bio-text\">\nSameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.<\/p>\n<p>Sameer\u2019s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games\u2019 GTA franchise, specifically <br \/>Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.<\/p>\n<p>Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik&#8217;s meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. 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Morant landed awkwardly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274226"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}