Ja Morant back from injury to start for Grizzlies vs. Pelicans

After suffering right knee soreness for the past three weeks, Memphis Grizzlies All-Star guard, Ja Morant, is finally cleared from injury to play Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans at FedExForum.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins intends to take it easy on his top-notch guard as he returns from missing nine games with the Grizzlies.

“We want to get him as good a run as possible with that group that he’s going to be playing with,” Jenkins said. “But obviously being off for a few weeks, we want to be intentional about not throwing him right into the high volume minute right off the bat.

While Morant won’t be playing his full playoff minutes, he will complete the Grizzlies starting lineup consisting of Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Steven Adams, for only the 10th time this season- which is a smart move for Memphis on their second-to-last regular season game.

The 22-year-old guard had been boosting his training in the past few days with more weight on his knee, as he prepares to make some strategic moves for Memphis ahead of the upcoming playoffs.

Injury Report for Memphis

While the Grizzlies’ starting lineup looks more promising than the past few weeks, four players are still out on Saturday: Killian Tillie and Jarrett Culver with knee injuries, Tyrell Terry (foot), and Santi Aldama with illness.

New Orleans @ Memphis

New Orleans are meeting Memphis at their home for a Southwest division battle at 6 pm ET.