The Memphis Grizzlies guess that Ja Morant will get back to activity Wednesday when they play the first of consecutive home games against the Houston Rockets.
With their double cross Elite player watch back in the crease and cheering from the seat, the Grizzlies tracked down the guts to mount a huge final quarter rally against the Dallas Free thinkers on Monday and take out a basic win comparative with their remaining in the Western Meeting.
With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Grizzlies (44-27) reclaimed sole possession of second place in the West after the Sacramento Kings’ road loss to the Utah Jazz.
Without Morant, Memphis improved to 6-3 and extended its winning streak to three games. Morant served an eight-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the NBA and was eligible to play against the Mavericks.
His return comes just in time. Morant, who spent 11 days in a Florida counseling facility addressing his issues with stress management, expressed both contrition and an eagerness to return to the court. The Grizzlies are currently playing seven of their eight games at home. Morant was leading the Grizzlies in both scoring (27.1 points per game) and assists (8.2 points per game) before an embarrassing incident at a Colorado nightclub slowed down his season.
Morant stated to reporters that he is now solely concentrating on basketball.
Despite Morant’s addition to the rotation, the Grizzlies will still be shorthanded against the Rockets. On Monday, swingman Dillon Brooks received his second suspension of the season after receiving his 18th technical of the season. For teasing the bench of the Mavericks, Brooks was penalized.
Following their 121-108 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Monday, the Rockets finished their six-game homestand with a record of 3-3, despite being 0-2 against the Grizzlies this season. Houston (18-54), which was playing the second game of a back-to-back, was sluggish in the first half, but it rallied in the middle periods before giving up an 18-6 run early in the fourth quarter, which resulted in an insurmountable deficit.
Despite this, the Rockets have shown signs of improvement toward the end of yet another disappointing season. Since ending an 11-game losing streak on March 4 in San Antonio, Houston is 5-5. The Rockets have found a spark after struggling to build cohesion with a young roster.
Memphis will serve as the first of five road games for the Rockets.
