Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke will miss the rest of the season as he is ruled out indefinitely after tearing his left Achilles tendon… with Memphis also set to be without Ja Morant after his NBA suspension
The Memphis Grizzlies could be without forward Brandon Clarke for the remainder of the season after he tore his left Achilles tendon.
Clarke is out indefinitely after he was injured Friday night late in the first quarter of the Grizzlies’ 113-97 loss to the Nuggets, a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Clarke missed a free throw and started limping as he went up the court and fell at half-court. He was helped to the locker room without putting weight on his left leg.
The 26-year-old is averaging 10.0 points in his fourth season with Memphis. The team said Clarke is expected to make a full recovery.
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His injury was announced the same day the NBA handed down a one-game suspension to fellow forward Dillon Brooks, who got his 16th technical foul of the season with 5:45 left in the game in Denver. Brooks earned a $5,000 fine and a one-game suspension.
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke is out indefinately after he tore his left Achilles tendon
His injury was announced as the NBA handed a one-game suspension to Dillon Brooks (right)
He will serve his suspension Sunday when the Grizzlies visit the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies also will be without guard Ja Morant after he was reportedly handed a suspension of at least two games Saturday.
The team said Saturday not long after the NBA opened an investigation into a social media post by the two-time All-Star.
In the Instagram clip, which was widely shared on Twitter immediately after it went out on his page, Morant is dancing topless in a strip club, before appearing to lifting a gun up to the side of his head.
It was later revealed that the incident was being investigated by the NBA, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania then reported that Morant had been banned for ‘at least two games’ by the Grizzlies while the investigation into the incident continues.
He continued by adding that the Grizzlies said Morant ‘will be away from the franchise for at least Sunday at Clippers and Tuesday at Lakers.’
The Grizzlies said only that Morant would miss at least the next two games.
Just hours later, Morant issued a statement taking reasonability for his actions and explaining he would be taking time away from the game to work on his well-being.
Ja Morant appeared to hold up a gun in an Instagram Live video in the early hours of Saturday
‘I take full responsibility for my actions last night,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down.
‘I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.’
In the background of the video, topless women can be seen dancing, while Morant laughs with his friends.
The tasteless clip is – incredibly – the fourth recent gun-related controversy involving the young NBA star, who earns $12,119,000 a year.
