Portland coach Micah Nori said Ja Morant’s left hamstring injury may be less severe than first feared ahead of Saturday’s game against San Antonio at the Moda Center.
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The Portland Trail Blazers will welcome the San Antonio Spurs to the Moda Center on Saturday with a 6-2 record and a coach who offered encouraging news about Ja Morant’s hamstring.
Morant is sidelined with a hamstring injury, but Nori said before the game that the issue “might not be as extensive as what we thought it was.” The comments add uncertainty to a return timeline that previously had Morant out until late November.
Morant suffered the injury on Oct. 29 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland’s first meeting with the team that drafted him. He exited with 7:46 left after scoring 14 points and adding three assists in 23 minutes, and the Trail Blazers went on to lose 124-103.
The Trail Blazers announced the day after the injury that scans identified a Grade 2 strain in Morant’s left hamstring, with a re-evaluation set for four weeks. The team’s estimate put him on track to miss at least the next 15 games.
A Grade 2 strain involves torn muscle fibres, and the typical recovery window for that grade is four to six weeks. Nori did not provide a revised return date, and the team has not released findings from a Los Angeles medical evaluation described in the reporting.
In Saturday’s matchup, Portland will face the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio enters as the defending Western Conference champions. Portland is fifth in the Western Conference going into the game, and Nori said he expects to rely more heavily on guards Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson.
Portland is also without Shaedon Sharpe and Vit Krejci, who are sidelined with a meniscus injury and an ankle fracture, respectively.
Morant was acquired by Portland on June 29 in exchange for forwards Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Over seven seasons, he has averaged 22.4 points and 7.4 assists per game, including 2020 Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player honours in 2022, along with two All-Star selections. He also led the NCAA with 10.0 assists per game as a Murray State sophomore.
Before his injury, Morant averaged 15.8 points and 5.5 assists across four games for Portland, highlighted by a 136-129 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 27 in which he scored 23 points. He debuted Oct. 21 with 14 points and eight assists in a 124-83 win over the Phoenix Suns.
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