Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. out for season after suffering meniscus tear against Pelicans
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson’s season is over.
Jackson suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee during their 109-99 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The @memgrizz today provided the following medical update on Jaren Jackson Jr.: pic.twitter.com/MR3CfuqGIH
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) August 4, 2020
The injury occurred after Jackson made contact with a Pelicans player while attempting to contest a shot. He didn’t leave the game because of it and was in at the very end, however. Jackson played 31 minutes and dropped 22 points while shooting 7-of-17 from the field in the loss.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
Jackson had injured that same knee in February, which caused him to miss nine games ahead of the league suspending play.
The 20-year-old was averaging 17.4 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Grizzlies this season, his second in the league, and was putting up more than 25 points per game since play resumed. The loss marked the third for the Grizzlies inside the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World.
They still hold the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings, however are rapidly losing the 3.5 game advantage they held upon arrival in Florida. The team had lost forward Justise Winslow inside the bubble, too, after he went down with a season-ending hip injury in practice last month.
Memphis now holds just a two-game lead ahead of both the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. While the Grizzlies still appear on track to at least making the play-in series for the final playoff spot, that quest will be significantly harder without Jackson in the mix.
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