Tuomas Iisalo’s star as the Memphis Grizzlies’ head coach is not ideal as he will not have all three of his point guards to start the season. First it was starter and star Ja Morant who was ruled out for the first few weeks of the 2025-26 season.
Ty Jerome followed him on the injury bay not too long after after getting his right calf hurt in pre-season game versus Miami Heat.
To make things worse for Iisalo, his third string point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. will also be out. The Vanderbilt standout’s case is worse as he is expected to be out for three months.
Scotty Pippen Jr. Injury Update: The Grizz guard is slated to undergo a sesmoidectomy in which bone(s) under his big toe will be removed. A 2020 study of athletes who underwent the procedure revealed a high return to play rate but an average time lost of 4.62 months.…
— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) October 19, 2025
Some NBA fans thought Grizzlies’ season is done even before it starts.
Desmond Bane got on the last lifeboat https://t.co/lUwCj0PDwM
— Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon (@TrillBroDude) October 18, 2025
Yeah the Grizzlies are gonna have to blow it up cause the current core has a 100 year curse on it https://t.co/Ei3SW7UiEr
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) October 18, 2025
Memphis now has all three of its point guards — Ja Morant, Ty Jerome and Pippen — on the shelf. Very tough way to start the season. https://t.co/Q9FcbOTtSU
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 18, 2025
have we considered putting the grizzlies in rice
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) October 18, 2025
Grizzlies players every year for some reason pic.twitter.com/ZnMky0uvDK
— Bryce☔️ (@bham_901) October 18, 2025
On top of this are the absence of three big men Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey, and Jaren Jackson Jr. who are all still on recovery from their respective month-long injuries.
Memphis Grizzlies can have Ja Morant back early
Asking the Grizzlies to shut the season down might just be some kind of overreaction even if the rotation is depleted.
Morant is not entirely out of the season as Iisalo confirmed he is recovering well.
Iisalo says minutes of @memgrizz rotation regulars will be ramped up tonight vs Heat, however Morant (ankle) won’t play in preseason finale.
Morant “is progressing really well” and worked with team at shootaround.
Hope remains he’ll be available for next week’s opening stretch. pic.twitter.com/9xhvQ73kL9
— Michael Wallace (@MyMikeCheck) October 17, 2025
The two-time All-Star also provided an assurance last week that he is getting better.
“They just be tweakin’. Panicking. Nothing to be crazy about. If I’m smiling and I ain’t telling you to worry, you ain’t got to worry,” Morant said.
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