Ja Morant returns after missing last nine games

Andrew Lopez: Grizzlies say Ja Morant will play and start tonight. Morant hasn’t played since March 18 with a sore right knee.
Source: Twitter @_Andrew_Lopez

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Mark Giannotto @mgiannotto
Those first 5 mins of the 3Q were exactly what you wanted to see today. Ja Morant and the starters turned a 17-point halftime lead into a 30-point lead. Looked much more in sync than first half. – 7:37 PM Meghan Triplett @Meghan_Triplett
1st half standouts:
It’s Dillon Brooks: 16pts
It’s Ziaire Williams: 12pts, 4 3PM
It’s Jaren Jackson Jr.: 9pts, 7reb, 4blk
It’s Ja Morant being back: 8pts, 3reb, 3ast
It’s the ball movement: 17 assists on 24 FG
Long story, it’s a lot!!! – 7:09 PM Jim Eichenhofer @Jim_Eichenhofer
Ja Morant with the rare multiple illegal contact by the forehead foul on Trey Murphy – 7:08 PM Oleh Kosel @OlehKosel
Ja Morant stuck his head into Trey Murphy’s chest several times before getting called for a foul. Seemed to be a little intimidation ploy.
Love that Trey never backed down. – 7:06 PM Damichael Cole @DamichaelC
An underrated factor to getting Ja Morant back? The Grizzlies started the 2nd quarter with this lineup:
Tyus Jones
Desmond Bane
Ziaire Williams
Jaren Jackson
Brandon Clarke
Then can bring in Ja with Dillon Brooks and others later. That one move really stabilizes the rotation – 6:47 PM Oleh Kosel @OlehKosel
Ja Morant tried a minute earlier to put someone on the Pelicans on a poster, but Jaxson Hayes just SHOWED him how it’s done. (Although Steven Adams didn’t go up for the contest.) – 6:28 PM The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
The Memphis Grizzlies announcers are hyped for Ja Morant’s return 🤣
pic.twitter.com/QTeGmmbG1p – 6:22 PM Kevin Pelton @kpelton
Ja Morant upset he didn’t get a foul call on an unnatural jump forward. CC to everyone who thinks they stopped enforcing that. – 6:21 PM Drew Hill @DrewHill_DM
Ja Morant vs. Herb Jones should be fun. – 6:14 PM Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
Ja Morant returns with new custom “Watch Ya Head” Kobe 6s by @realSIERATO
And a “Him.” tat 👀 pic.twitter.com/PVJqaNzz3o – 5:40 PM Damichael Cole @DamichaelC
Ja Morant is back and starting today. He wore a bandage on his right knee in warmups. Grizzlies have their full starting five in tact right before the playoffs. Buckle up. pic.twitter.com/PWps5YPQl8 – 5:34 PM Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Pelicans starters tonight:
Devonte’ Graham
CJ McCollum
Herb Jones
Jaxson Hayes
Jonas Valanciunas
Ja Morant is also back for Memphis – 5:34 PM JD Shaw @JShawNBA
Grizzlies star Ja Morant (right knee soreness) will make his return tonight against the Pelicans, the team announced. – 5:34 PM Joe Mullinax @sbnGrizzlies
The Grizzlies have announced that Ja Morant will play and start tonight – 5:34 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Grizzlies say Ja Morant (right knee soreness) is AVAILABLE and will start tonight against New Orleans. – 5:33 PM Christian Clark @cclark_13
Starters:
Devonte’ Graham
CJ McCollum
Herb Jones
Jaxson Hayes
Jonas Valanciunas
Ja Morant is going to play. He’s starting. – 5:33 PM Drew Hill @DrewHill_DM
Ja Morant is available to play tonight – 5:33 PM Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
Grizzlies say Ja Morant will play and start tonight.
Morant hasn’t played since March 18 with a sore right knee. – 5:32 PM Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Helps that the Grizzlies have a game today but like every third person I’ve seen in Memphis is wearing a Ja Morant jersey. The guy has electrified this city. – 4:42 PM Meghan Triplett @Meghan_Triplett
Coach Jenkins said Ja Morant is a game-time decision. He will go through his pregame warm-up first.
Jenkins added that if Morant does play he will not play his “playoff minutes”. They want to be smart & intentional about not throwing him right into the high volume of minutes. – 4:31 PM Joe Mullinax @sbnGrizzlies
Coach Jenkins is here. Ja Morant is a game time decision but Jenkins is “hopeful” that Ja will play. – 4:19 PM Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
Taylor Jenkins says Ja Morant is a game-time decision but that he’s “hopeful” Morant will play today.
Morant hasn’t played since March 18 because of a sore right knee. – 4:19 PM Joe Mullinax @sbnGrizzlies
Hello friends. @JoeMullinax with you for Grizzlies-Pelicans. A fella named Ja Morant may be playing in this one. Lets see what Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins has to say. – 4:12 PM Pete Pranica @PetePranica
Interesting statistical note: For Ja Morant to remain on the NBA stats leaderboard, he would have to play in both games this weekend. Players must play in 70% of games (58 in 82 game season) to qualify. He’s played in 56 so far. – 12:28 PM Ja Morant @JaMorant
🙏🏽🙏🏽 – 11:35 AM Joe Mullinax @sbnGrizzlies
Ja Morant is back (possibly). Make your plans accordingly.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. New Orleans Pelicans Game Preview https://t.co/TynKKIhwHH pic.twitter.com/92Uoju9Mk1 – 8:30 AM JD Shaw @JShawNBA
Grizzlies star Ja Morant (right knee soreness) has been upgraded to QUESTIONABLE for the team’s game against the Pelicans on Saturday. – 6:03 PM Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant (knee) is listed as questionable for tomorrow’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. – 6:01 PM Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Grizzlies list Ja Morant (knee) as questionable for Pelicans game. – 6:00 PM

More on this storyline

Tim MacMahon: Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has been upgraded to questionable for the first time since being sidelined by right knee soreness. He’s on track to chip off rust before playoffs. -via Twitter @espn_macmahon / April 8, 2022 The Grizzlies already clinched the No. 2 seed in the West. They can set a franchise-record for victories in a season by winning their final two games. They wrap up the regular season with a visit from New Orleans on Saturday before the finale Sunday night against Boston. Jenkins said they would like to have at least one game with their full contingent before the postseason. But health matters more. “If that’s not what’s the recommendation of the medical team, we don’t feel like that’s the smartest move, then we won’t do it,” Jenkins said. -via ESPN / April 8, 2022 Drew Hill: Taylor Jenkins said Ja Morant participated in 5-on-5 and that there is a chance he could play in one of the final two games of the regular season. He said he’s doing really well. -via Twitter @DrewHill_DM / April 7, 2022