The injury luck of a few teams may be beginning to turn, but the Portland Trail Blazers are yet to experience a positive development in this regard. They entered their 123-98 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night already down five players in Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, and Matisse Thybulle, but things somehow found a way to go from bad to worse.
The Blazers not only lost the battle but also lost the war of attrition on Monday night as they saw two starters of theirs, Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III, go down with injuries on the night. Grant sustained a blow to his left knee and did not return after exiting at the 9:58 mark of the third quarter, while Williams, who has been been pressed into starting duties with injuries to Ayton and Clingan, was not able to suit up for Portland after the halftime intermission as he underwent concussion protocol.
Both Grant and Williams have considerable injury histories, so it’s no surprise to see the Blazers err on the side of caution especially when the Grizzlies began to run away with the game in the middle of the third quarter. The injury bug continues to plague Portland, and at this point, a multi-game absence is likely for those two since the Blazers aren’t competing for anything other than lottery balls.
Grant has missed 82 games over the past four seasons, although he last dealt with a knee injury back in 2021. Meanwhile, Williams’ situation is more concerning. The Blazers center played in just six games last season after undergoing knee surgery, and entering concussion protocol only serves to halt the momentum he’s been building throughout his impressive 2024-25 season thus far.
How do Blazers proceed amid injuries to Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III?
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The injury to Robert Williams III further depletes an already-decimated Blazers frontcourt. It’s not quite clear when Deandre Ayton will be returning from a finger injury, while Donovan Clingan sustained a left knee sprain, putting his future playing status in considerable doubt. If Williams were to miss a few games, the Blazers will have to rely on Duop Reath and Jabari Walker to fill the majority of minutes at the five.
Meanwhile, the silver lining for the Blazers if Jerami Grant’s knee ends up bothering him enough to keep him out for multiple games is that they have a few players capable of filling in for him. Deni Avdija should assume a larger role, while Dalano Banton and Rayan Rupert should also feature more prominently in the rotation.
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