Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant will miss Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after aggravating back spasms in Friday's loss to the Utah Jazz.
Morant is considered "week-to-week" and will require a period of "short-term off-loading."
The 20-year-old first suffered the spasms on Nov. 25 against the Indiana Pacers. He took a rough spill into a baseline camera operator in the second quarter during that contest.
Ja Morant is down bad after falling down bad into a cameraman pic.twitter.com/JRtwm1g8Fp
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) November 26, 2019
Morant left the game after the collision but returned in the third quarter. He finished with a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists. The rookie also played in the Grizzlies' following two games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz.
While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Morant was adamant the collision wouldn't persuade him to change his fearless style of play.
"Never. Ever. I'm not listening to nobody try to tell me how to play," he said. "I've been playing like this all my life. It got me here and I'm going to continue to play like that. I'm willing to lay my body on the line for my teams."
Morant is an early candidate to win the Rookie of the Year award. The Murray State product is averaging 18.6 points, 6.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 41% from distance through 17 games.
