It’s early in the season, but injuries are hitting the Grizzlies hard. Ja Morant is in question for the opener recovering from an ankle sprain, while centers Zach Edey and Brandon Clarke are both out as well due to injuries.
Now add Scotty Pippen Jr. to the mix, with the team announcing he will miss at least three months following surgery on his left big toe.
A Sesamoidectomy is the removal of a small, round bone — maybe the size of a pea or smaller — embedded within tendons around the big toe. Those bones help absorb pressure and facilitate movement, but can lead to pain when chronically stressed.
Ty Jerome will likely see an increase in minutes with Pippen out (as long as Jerome is healthy, he left the final Grizzlies preseason game with a calf issue). With Desmond Bane now in Orlando, more was going to fall on the plate of Pippen and now someone else needs to step up in those minutes.
Memphis has been hit hard by injuries in the past few seasons, an issue that began with Morant, who has played in just 59 games over those two seasons. The Grizzlies need a mostly healthy season to get a sense of just how good this team is and what needs to come next.