Scotty

Pippen Jr.

Playing in the same building where his father helped hang three of Chicago’s six NBA championship banners (Chicago won the first three at the old Chicago Stadium), Pippen had a career night. The 30 points are a career-high for the Grizzlies point guard, who has filled in admirably for the injured Ja Morant. Pippen should be rostered in fantasy leagues until Morant returns, and he’ll likely have value even after that time comes.

Morant will remain sidelined for another game, an unsurprising development since he was initially doubtful on the injury report. Scotty Pippen Jr. will stay in the starting lineup until Morant is healthy enough to play.

Morant probably won’t be back for this game, but he’s getting closer to returning. He has been sidelined for over two weeks, which has allowed Scotty Pippen Jr. to start in his place. After this game, Morant’s next chance to play will be on Monday against Portland.

Pippen didn’t have a great night shooting the basketball, but he continues to provide solid value for the Grizzlies and fantasy managers. The four steals are a season-high for the point guard, who continues to provide top 100 per-game value in 8-cat formats while sitting just outside that threshold in 9-cat. Rostered in 47% of Yahoo leagues, Pippen will have value as long as Ja Morant (hip) remains sidelined.

Smart is set to miss his sixth consecutive contest and has yet to make his mark in Memphis. The two-way guard has been an abysmal shooter in Memphis and there’s been no indication that he’ll return to fantasy relevance when healthy after spending nearly all of last season on the shelf. Scotty Pippen will continue running the show while Memphis has a banged up backcourt.

Morant was injured during Wednesday’s win over the Lakers. The injury is a posterior hip subluxation and multiple Grade 1 pelvic muscle strains, with the good news being there was no dislocation. With Marcus Smart also out due to injury, Scotty Pippen Jr. must be rostered wherever he’s available.

Starting for the injured Ja Morant, Pippen Jr. posted the first triple-double of his career. He was +21 in 28 minutes in the 24-point victory. Pippen Jr. has played well this year, but has a lot more fantasy value while Morant is out. We should know more about Morant’s timetable to return this weekend, but in the meantime Pippen Jr. has to be in starting fantasy lineups. The Grizzlies take on the Trail Blazers on the road Sunday.

The Grizzlies have made two changes to their starting lineup. Pippen will start for the injured Ja Morant and should be streamed wherever possible. The other change is Clarke, who replaces Zach Edey. This means Jackson will be the starting center, likely making for a better matchup with Wizards rookie Alex Sarr.

While Morant’s announced injury when he had to exit Wednesday’s win over the Lakers was a right hamstring injury, the Grizzlies are listing his right hip on the injury report for Friday. This boosts the fantasy value of Scotty Pippen Jr. substantially, and he’s worth streaming in standard leagues and maybe some shallow formats as well.

Morant exited this game a bit early with a right hamstring injury, which limited him to only 24 minutes. It’s unclear how severe the injury is, since the lopsided score may have been a factor in him not returning. If the hammy forces him to miss more than just the end of this game, Scotty Pippen Jr. will receive a nice boost in minutes and usage. Before the injury, Morant was able to have another strong performance with plenty of fun plays that showcased his athleticism. The Wizards come to town on Friday, so keep an eye on Morant’s status ahead of that one.