Memphis Grizzlies rookies Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke will not play Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury maintenance, the team announced on Thursday afternoon.
Both will be available to play Saturday against the Washington Wizards.
Morant recently missed four games after dealing with back soreness following a collision with a courtside camera operator. He scored a team-high 26 points in his return on Monday against the Golden State Warriors and tallied 13 points on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies announced on Dec. 3 that Clarke would be considered week-to-week with an aggravated sore left oblique muscle. Clarke missed four games before returning on Wednesday as he recorded 15 points and seven rebounds.
Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke will not play Friday vs @Bucks but will be available Saturday vs @WashWizards. In conjunction with their recent respective injuries, Morant tomorrow will be listed as “OUT–Injury Maintenance–Back" and Clarke as “OUT–Injury Maintenance–LT Oblique."
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) December 12, 2019
The Grizzlies have been cautious with injuries this season, especially to their two rookie players. The organization will certainly monitor their progress and the two could be subject to resting in back-to-backs for the foreseeable future.
Morant leads all rookies in scoring average (18.7) and assists (6.4) this season while Clarke is 10th in scoring (12.0), first in field-goal percentage (63.8) and second in rebounding (5.9).
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