The Memphis Grizzlies, who are in 8th place in the tight Western Conference, got some discouraging news on Sunday after finding out that forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss time after suffering a sprained left knee.
Jackson, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, was injured while contesting a shot in the second quarter of Memphis’s 117-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Friday night.
According to the team’s medical staff, he will be re-evaluated after two weeks of rest and rehabilitation with the hope that he can come back to the team sooner rather than later.
The New Jersey native has been a fixture in Memphis’ starting five this season, playing and starting in all but two of the Grizzlies’ games up until his injury.
The second-year player is averaging 16.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game on 46.9% shooting from the field for Taylor Jenkins’s playoff contenders.
Brandon Clarke, the rookie sixth man out of Gonzaga, is expected to replace Jackson in the starting lineup for Memphis until the injured player’s return.
Memphis must now hope that Jenkins’s absence doesn’t affect them too greatly, as they only maintain a 3.5 game lead over the Portland Trailblazers for the final playoff spot in the West.
