Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies once again seem to be an afterthought heading into the NBA season. There isn’t much buzz about last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year. At least there’s not the attention the retooled Lakers, Kevin Durant’s return to the court or Zion Williamson’s sophomore campaign are getting. Morant and this teammates were a surprise last season and he plans to remove any doubt this year. “Attacking the season and proving everybody wrong is my number one goal,” Morant said. Memphis' young star and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins are in complete agreement on what Mortant needs to work on in his second season. “Everything,” Morant said. “I feel like it's that simple.” Asked what he wants Morant to improve on, Jenkins said, “My simple answer would be everything." Expectations are very high in Memphis thanks to the point guard's impressive rookie debut. Not only was Morant a nearly unanimous pick as NBA Rookie of the Year, he was the lone unanimous pick on the league's All-Rookie... [More]

Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies once again seem to be an afterthought heading into the NBA season. There isn’t much buzz about last year’s NBA rookie of the year. At least there’s not the attention the retooled Lakers, Kevin Durant’s return to the court or Zion Williamson’s sophomore campaign are getting. Morant and this teammates were a surprise last year and he plans to remove any doubt this year. “Attacking the season and proving everybody wrong is my number one goal,” Morant said. Memphis' young star and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins are in complete agreement on what Mortant needs to work on in his second season. “Everything,” Morant said. “I feel like it's that simple.” Asked what he wants Morant to improve on Jenkins said, “My simple answer would be everything." Expectations are very high in Memphis thanks to the point guard's impressive rookie debut. Not only was Morant a nearly unanimous pick as NBA Rookie of the Year, he was the lone unanimous pick on the league's All-Rookie... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have a talented young core that they are determined to keep together, and they exercised the 2021-22 options for reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen. The Grizzlies announced the moves Wednesday night. The No. 2 pick overall in 2019 out of Murray State, Morant was the near unanimous pick as top rookie and a unanimous choice for the NBA All-Rookie team. He led the team with 17.8 points per game starting 67 games last season. The fourth overall pick in 2018, Jackson averaged 15.5 points in 113 starts over two seasons. He was on the 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie team, and Jackson scored 17.4 points a game in his second season while blocking 1.61 shots a game. He scored a career-high 43 points on Dec. 13, 2019, against Milwaukee. Clarke joined Morant on the NBA All-Rookie first team after averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. He shot an NBA rookie-best 61.8% from the floor. Allen shot 40.4% from 3-point range last season in his first with the Grizzlies. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Ja Morant will have a painful memory from his rookie season to help remind him — and the rest of the NBA — just how far ahead of schedule the Memphis Grizzlies' rebuilding project is.“How close I was to the playoffs,” Morant said Saturday after the Grizzlies' playoff hopes ended in a 126-122 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference's play-in game.“Obviously, now I feel like I kind of know what it takes to make it. We're some games away. I learned a lot through the amount of games I played this whole season. I say people try to put a lot of pressure on me, but I'm a rookie. Just turned 21 a couple days ago. At this point, I'm still learning.”The likely NBA rookie of the year capped off his season by scoring a career-best 35 points despite playing with a broken thumb the final four games of the NBA's restart in Florida. Only three Grizzlies rookies previously scored 35 or more in a regular-season game: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr.Better yet,... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies will be without forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr. for whatever remains of this season after he hurt his left knee. The Grizzlies announced Tuesday that Jackson was injured when he landed awkwardly after making contact with an opponent while contesting a shot. Further evaluation found a meniscus tear in his left knee. Jackson is expected to make a full recovery. The Grizzlies, 0-3 in their seeding games, have a two-game lead over Portland and San Antonio for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Jackson, the No. 4 overall selection in the 2018 draft out of Michigan State, is second on the Grizzlies with 17.4 points per game. Jackson scored 33 points in the Grizzlies' opening loss to Portland in the seeding games. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 33 points, teaming with Damian Lillard for 11 of Portland's 16 in overtime, and the Trail Blazers pulled out a desperately needed victory to resume their season by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 140-135 on Friday.Lillard finished with 29 points and nine assists as the Trail Blazers boosted their hopes for a seventh consecutive playoff appearance. Carmelo Anthony added 21 points as Portland moved within 2 1/2 games of the Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.“Everybody knew how important that game was," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “This is playoff basketball from us and we have that pressure and you can’t shy away from it.”McCollum started fast, scoring 19 points in the first half, and finished strong with two crucial 3-pointers in overtime. The first one to open the extra period gave Portland the lead for good, and he added six assists.Jaren Jackson Jr. had 33 points and rookie Ja Morant added 22 points and 11 assists... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Grizzlies are expecting forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to return from an injured left knee within the next week along with Justise Winslow also making his debut with Memphis in that same time span.Memphis gave an injury update Monday. Jackson hurt his knee Feb. 21 in a road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Grizzlies originally said the No. 4 overall pick of the 2018 draft would be out at least two weeks before updating his status. The Grizzlies acquired Winslow on Feb. 6 in a deal sending Andre Iguodala to Miami, knowing he wouldn't be available immediately because of back soreness that limited him to 11 games this season. Winslow spent his first five seasons in the NBA with Miami, missing most of his second with an injured shoulder. Memphis also said rookie Brandon Clarke is progressing well in his recovery and is expected to return this season. Clarke strained his right quadriceps Feb. 24 in a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies currently sit in the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a four-game lead over New Orleans and Sacramento with 18 games remaining this season. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis rookie forward Brandon Clarke hurt his right quadriceps and will be re-valuated in two weeks. The Grizzlies updated Clarke's status Tuesday night. Clarke left Monday night's 124-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers after playing only three minutes with what was called hip soreness. The Grizzlies said further tests showed an injury to Clarke's right quadriceps. The Grizzlies already are without Jaren Jackson Jr. after he sprained his left knee in Friday night's loss to the Lakers and will be re-evaluated within two weeks. The 6-foot-8 Clarke has appeared in 50 games and is averaging 12 points and 21.7 minutes played. He was the MVP of the 2019 Summer League and the championship game MVP as Memphis won its first Las Vegas summer league title. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left knee after getting hurt in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Grizzlies announced Sunday that Jackson will be re-evaluated in two weeks. An MRI exam showed Jackson sprained his knee Friday night contesting a shot late in the second quarter. He did not return for the second half of Memphis' 117-105 loss to the Lakers. Jackson is the Grizzlies' second-leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points per game. The fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft is shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. Memphis currently is in the midst of a four-game road swing, holding the eighth spot in the Western Conference at 28-28. They visit the Clippers on Monday night. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports