The Grizzlies got the win in Portland, but the night still ended with a familiar concern hanging over their frontcourt.
Quinten Post left Thursday’s 124-103 road victory in the second quarter with a right ankle injury after putting up 10 points, four rebounds and two threes in just seven minutes. He was ruled doubtful to return and never made it back onto the floor. Memphis still moved to 5-0, matching the second 5-0 start in franchise history, yet the bigger takeaway was the same one that keeps circling around this team: can the Grizzlies’ bigs stay on the court?
That question has followed the group all season. Isaiah Stewart missed the opener on Oct. 21 after an ankle injury in preseason, and Zach Edey was out against the Kings while working back from the ankle issue that ended his season last year.
For Memphis, the worry is not a brief absence here or there. It’s the scenario where one of these guys is lost for a longer stretch and the other two have to absorb the load. And the injury history attached to this group does not exactly inspire confidence.
Post arrived in Memphis on a three-year, $30 million deal after the Warriors declined to match the offer sheet, and the Grizzlies were betting on his size and shooting. The 7-footer, the No. 52 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has shown why on offense when healthy enough to play.
Across five appearances this season, he is averaging 7.6 points on 62.5% shooting overall and 41.7% from three. He has scored in double figures in each of the last two games.
The defensive end is a different story. Post has too often been overpowered by opposing bigs, and he has had trouble holding his ground on the glass, where he has been pushed around and boxed out repeatedly.
Stewart’s path with Memphis has been stop-and-start from the beginning. He was acquired in a trade with Detroit, then hurt his ankle just two minutes into his preseason debut.
That issue cost him the season opener, and the team initially said on Oct. 9 he would be out multiple weeks. He returned exactly 14 days later, on Oct. 23 against Golden State.
The ankle problems are nothing new for Stewart. He sprained the same ankle in November of last season with Detroit, and another ankle sprain in January 2024 kept him out for eight games.
Since coming back, though, he has given Memphis exactly what fans wanted: energy, edge and production. He is averaging 9.8 points on 60% shooting in four games, and he posted a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Portland.
Edey’s story has been even more complicated. He missed just one game in his junior year at Purdue, but that level of availability has not carried into the pros.
Across two NBA seasons, he has missed 87 games. Twelve were as a rookie because of a sprained ankle.
Another 58 came last season, when that same ankle flared up again and eventually needed surgery that ended his year in March.
So far this season, Edey has averaged 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in four appearances. His best outing came against Portland, when he went 6-of-8 from the field, hit his only three-point attempt and produced what was easily his strongest game of the young season.
He has not had a fresh injury this year, but Memphis has still handled him carefully, including the missed game at Sacramento. That alone says plenty about how the organization views his health going forward.
None of the early-season absences have become a full-blown alarm yet. But the question around this front line is bigger than the first five games. The Grizzlies are undefeated despite missing big men along the way, and now the real challenge is whether they can keep winning while also holding up physically over the long haul.
In Other News...
Ja Morant's Return To Memphis Took A Brutal Turn Fast
Ja Morants first game against the Grizzlies since being traded had the kind of emotional pull that naturally comes with a reunion, but it took an abrupt turn early in the fourth quarter when he went down with a left hamstring injury. He was unable to return, closing out the night with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in a game that had already carried extra weight simply because of who was on the other sideline.
For Memphis fans, the concern shifts immediately from the storyline of the matchup to the condition of one of the franchises most recognizable former stars. Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori said Morant felt a twinge, and more clarity is expected tomorrow afternoon, leaving this one with a pause where the aftermath should be. [Read more 🡒]
Cameron Boozer Just Put Memphis In Some Rare NBA History
Cameron Boozers night in Memphis was the kind that tends to travel fast around the league. In the Grizzlies win over Portland, the young forward filled up every part of the stat sheet, handing out passes, cleaning the glass and knocking down enough shots to turn a strong performance into something historic.
For Memphis, the eye-catching part is not just the all-around production but the age at which it arrived. Boozer became the youngest forward ever to post a triple-double, a marker that had previously belonged to LeBron James, and he did it in just his first one. There will be plenty of time to sort out what it means long term, but for one night the Grizzlies had a player making a very rare kind of NBA history. [Read more 🡒]
Ja Morant Overshadowed A Big Grizzlies Breakout In Portland
The Grizzlies left Portland with a convincing 124-103 win, and for much of the night the bigger story was the kind of breakout performance that can jump-start a young season. Memphis rookie Cameron Boozer posted his first career triple-double, giving the Grizzlies a jolt in a game where they steadily separated themselves and then put it away in the fourth quarter.
Still, the closing stretch carried a different kind of concern for Memphis. Ja Morant exited in the fourth quarter with left hamstring issues and was being evaluated after the game, a development that can quickly overshadow even a strong road victory. Portland got solid work from center Donovan Clingan, who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, but the Trail Blazers never found enough offense to keep up once Memphis took control. [Read more 🡒]