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In Street Clothes

Covering sports injuries from the perspective of a certified athletic trainer and backed by analytics.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies won over 50 games for the second straight year despite a rash of significant injuries to key contributors. Jaren Jackson Jr. missed the first 14 games of the year with a stress fracture in his foot and Desmond Bane’s red-hot start was derailed by a big toe injury. Things worsened as the year progressed after center Steven Adams saw his season end in late January following a PCL sprain in his right knee. Brandon Clarke joined him on the bench after he tore his Achilles in March.

However, the team’s elevated injury total is a bit skewed by the offseason acquisition of Danny Green. Green tore his ACL and LCL while with the Sixers and missed 50 games with the Grizzlies while recovering. Green’s time lost accounted for 20 percent of the Memphis’ final total. Still, the work of Head Athletic Trainer Pete Elliot and the medical team becomes even more important with All-Star guard Ja Morant slated to miss the first 25 games of the year due to suspension. Unfortunately, two days before the start of the regular season, the team announced Adams will miss the entire season following surgery for his lingering PCL injury. Clarke will also miss time to start the year still recovering from last season’s injury further thinning the Memphis front court. 

One thought on “Memphis Grizzlies”
  1. […] and smooth recovery and his inherent injury risk will be elevated for the immediate future. The well-respected Grizzlies medical staff will be a major factor in his recovery and are familiar with the process having successfully managed […]

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