Ja Morant Week-to-Week with Shoulder Injury | Fantasy Basketball Outlook for Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Scotty Pippen Jr., Jake LaRavia, Brandon Clarke and More

Another big name in the NBA is injured. Memphis’ Ja Morant is considered week-to-week with a right shoulder injury.

Let’s take a look at some of Morant’s numbers this season and then determine which players might step up in his absence.

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Morant’s Numbers

Morant has been one of top players for Memphis, which sits second in the Western Conference standings.

Morant is averaging 21.2 points, 7.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks and 3.8 turnovers across 27.7 minutes a game. He’s played in just 20 of the team’s 33 games so far, so the Grizzlies do know how to play and succeed without him.

Memphis is 8-5 in the 13 games without Morant so far.

Of course, Morant is a very talented player and big-time fantasy asset, so you need to find a way to keep rostering him through this injury. Hopefully you have an IR spot you could throw him in, otherwise you’ll need to stash him on the bench for the next several games.

Other Memphis Fantasy Outlooks

Morant is currently the most-prized Memphis fantasy player, sitting 19th on the FantasySP Trade Value Chart.

Desmond Bane (38), Jaren Jackson Jr. (52), Santi Aldama (100), Scotty Pippen Jr. (128), Zach Edey (136) are the next best fantasy assets so far. We’ll also discuss Jaylen Wells, Jake LaRavia, Brandon Clarke, Jay Huff, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart and John Konchar.

Bane is averaging 15.7 points, 6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks across 28.2 minutes in his 25 games played this season. 

Without Morant around this season, Bane is averaging 16.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 0.3 blocks a game. It makes sense that without Morant around, Bane would be asked to pick up a little slack. He’s already a nightly starting option, and should have a little more fantasy value until Morant is back.

Jackson is averaging 21.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals across 28.2 minutes and 31 games.

JJJ has played in all 13 games without Morant, and is averaging 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2 blocks and 1.2 steals a game. His fantasy value is pretty similar without Morant, but Jackson does have a higher ceiling without Morant there.

Aldama is averaging 13 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game across 25.7 minutes and 31 games.

Aldama has appeared in 12 games without Morant, averaging 12.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1 steal and 0.6 blocks per contest. Again, the absence of Morant doesn’t seem to affect Aldama all that much, but his fantasy ceiling does go up a bit at least. Aldama is out for a bit as well with his own injury.

Pippen has played in all 33 games, averaging 10.8 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.4 blocks across 22.5 minutes. 

Pippen’s averages jump up to 27 minutes, 14.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks a game without Morant this season. Those average bumps mean Pippen should be getting added in more fantasy leagues until Morant returns. He goes from a borderline standard league option to someone you could start every night for the next week or so.

Edey has played in 20 games this season, averaging 11.3 points, 8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.1 assists and 0.8 steals across 21.9 minutes.

He’s played in seven games without Morant around. His averages actually go down without Morant, with Edey averaging 10.7 points, 7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1 assist and block a game. Edey remains a good deep-league option, and a player to stream in standard leagues in favorable matchups.

LaRavia has played in all 33 games so far, averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks across 22.1 minutes.

He averages 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1 steal and 0.8 blocks per game without Morant around. LaRavia is going to miss Tuesday’s game, but when he’s back out there, his fantasy value improves a bit without Morant around. He’s just a deep-league option right now, but maybe worth adding and playing until Morant comes back.

Smart has appeared in just 18 games so far, averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks across 21.2 minutes. 

His fantasy value rises when Morant isn’t around. In six games without the star guard around, Smart averages 12 points, 4.5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks. He’s another deep-league option only, but is also out with an injury of his own, so he’s not worth adding unless he returns and Morant is out for even longer.

Clarke has played 31 games so far, averaging 7.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks across 18.4 minutes a game.

In 11 games without Morant around, Clarke averages 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.1 blocks. He’s another deep-league option, but someone to consider once he returns from his own injury.

With Morant, Aldama and Smart all nursing injuries that could keep them out a bit, players like Wells, Huff, Kennard and Konchar could take on bigger roles than you might expect.

Wells has played in all 33 games this season, and is averaging 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks across 24.8 minutes.

Wells’ averages move to 12.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks across 25.5 minutes without Morant this season. He’s yet another deep-league option right now, but could become a streaming option in standard leagues in a hurry with some better numbers over the next few games. At the very least, he should be added in a few more deep leagues.

Huff has appeared in 29 games, averaging 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 0.8 assists and 0.3 steals across 15.2 minutes. 

He averages 16 minutes, 10.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 assist and 0.3 steals when Morant isn’t out there. Huff would need a big man or two to miss extended time to see his fantasy value really rise. He’s just an option in the deepest of leagues right now.

Kennard is averaging 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.1 blocks across 20.2 minutes in 21 games played so far.

He’s played in 11 games without Morant, and averages 8 points, 3.4 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.1 blocks across 22.3 minutes. Kennard has a little extra fantasy value without Morant around, but would only be a streaming option in the deepest of fantasy leagues.

Konchar is averaging just 2.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks across 13.2 minutes and 18 games this season.

He’s played in nine games without Morant around and averages 1.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks in 15.4 minutes. So while he gets a little extra playing time, it doesn’t really impact his fantasy value.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the injury to Morant doesn’t really seem to impact the Grizzlies all that much, regardless if a player gets more playing time or not.

The top fantasy players - Bane, Jackson, Aldama, Pippen and Edey - will remain the best options, and the other rotation players are likely to top out as deep-league options. 

The additional injuries to Aldama and Smart open a few more opportunities, but it seems unlikely that there would be a “breakout” fantasy player during the next couple of weeks. 

Fantasy owners, in deep leagues especially, will want to check out Tuesday’s box score to see which players might be worth adding for a few games. Checking the FantasySP Waiver Wire Pickups page should also help you locate the trending Memphis fantasy players.