Is Ja Morant Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Grizzlies vs. Magic)

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Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant has missed a lot of time this season (22 games to be exact), so bettors and fans may be on edge on to see if he'll play on the second night of a back-to-back against the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
The Grizzlies released their injury report on Friday afternoon, and Morant is not listed, so he is expected to play tonight.
Status Report: @memgrizz at @OrlandoMagic, February 21: pic.twitter.com/bxCUyi9PfC
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) February 21, 2025
The Grizzlies are favored by four points in this game at DraftKings Sportsbook, a sign that Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. will all be good to go for Memphis.
Since the start of the new year, Morant has missed at least one of the two games in each of Memphis' three back-to-backs. The last time he played in both ends of a back-to-back was in December (the 26th and 27th) but he played less than 25 minutes in both of those games.
On top of that, Morant sat one leg out a back-to-back in early December, although he did play both of the Grizzies back-backs in October.
The No. 3 seed in the West, Memphis has clearly been careful with the star guard to hopefully keep him healthy for the postseason. The Grizzlies are an impressive 14-8 in the 22 games that Morant has missed.
Since Morant played just over 30 minutes in Thursday's loss to the Indiana Pacers, it's great to see that he's able to play on the second night of a back-to-back.
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Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.
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