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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS — After serving his 25-game suspension, Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant will start in his season debut Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
“He’s fired up,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said pregame. “He’s been putting a lot of work since the start of the season, been around the team as much as he could. Now he gets this opportunity here at Game 26. Super excited to see him go out there and just have fun. That’s what he and I have talked about. It’s putting a lot of work, go out there, have fun, build chemistry with your teammates and just enjoy this opportunity to be back on the floor.”
The Grizzlies went 6-19 without Morant, who was suspended 25 games by NBA commissioner Adam Silver after brandishing a firearm in an Instagram Live video in May, two weeks after Memphis was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Morant served an eight-game suspension last season after a similar incident in March.
Morant came off the bench immediately after his suspension last season, but that was under much different circumstances. The Grizzlies went 6-3 in the games he missed — including one for conditioning reasons upon the conclusion of his suspension — with fill-in starting point guard Tyus Jones performing well.
Jones was traded to the Washington Wizards during the offseason in the three-team deal in which the Grizzlies acquired guard Marcus Smart, who has been out since Nov. 14 due to a sprained left foot. Derrick Rose, another veteran point guard acquired by Memphis in the offseason, is also out Tuesday night due to a hamstring strain. Jacob Gilyard, who is on a two-way contract, has started eight games in Morant’s absence, including Monday night’s lopsided loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Grizzlies have the league’s last-ranked offense, averaging 105.9 points per 100 possessions without Morant, who led Memphis with 26.2 points and 8.1 assists per game last season.
“I just want him to play the standard that we’ve been talking about,” said Jenkins, who mentioned he would be “mindful” of Morant’s minutes total. “I told him, I told the team, I want him to lean into his teammates and understand how he can help them and how they can help him as well. Go out there and be a leader for us on the offensive side of the floor.”