NBA Rumors: Ja Morant may be trending to miss Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers while Giannis Antetokounmpo might be good to go against the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers pulled off two of the bigger upsets in their respective Game 1s against the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend. However, both of those games were marred by injuries. The Bucks lost Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first half of Game 1 to a back injury and Ja Morant went down for the Grizzlies with four minutes left in Game 1.
Heading into their respective Game 2s, all eyes will be monitoring the health of both of their star players. And the early indications are both good and bad. For Morant and the Grizzlies, it’s not looking great. According to a recent report, there is “significant doubt” that Morant will miss Game 2 with a hand injury.
If the Grizzlies don’t have Morant for Game 2, it will throw a huge wrench in this series. Entering Game 2 on their home floor, it has to be viewed as almost a must-win game for Memphis as Games 3 and 4 will be in Los Angeles.
It’s just unfortunate all around especially considering that Morant’s playoff run last season was also cut short due to injury. Hopefully, he can play for Game 3 and, if not, he can make a return for Game 3. Otherwise, perhaps the Lakers are really going to pull off this series upset.
Giannis should be ready to go for Game 2 vs. Miami Heat
The good news is that it appears that Giannis should be ready for Game 2. The Bucks may not have the same urgency as the Grizzlies considering that it’s unlikely the Heat is going to continue to play at a historic level as they did in Game 1, but even though the Heat is the 8th seed the Bucks don’t want to find themselves in a 2-0 series hold as the series shifts to Miami.
From all indications, Giannis should be ready to go when Game 2 begins. All the tests came back clean for Giannis and it will ultimately come down to how he feels leading up to Game 2.
Both the Bucks and Grizzlies are set to take on the Heat and Lakers, respectively, Wednesday in Game 2. One team will be healthy, it appears, while the other one is hoping their star player can get to a place where he can suit up.
While they may be in different circumstances, one thing is clear – they both need Game 2 wins.