Tragedy strikes the Grizzlies! They headed into tonight’s Spurs clash hoping to double down on Wednesday’s win against Victor Wembanyama and Co. And they did a solid job, maintaining a comfortable lead throughout the game despite playing without Ja Morant. However, things took an unfortunate turn when big man Zach Edey was left with a bloody nose after a scary collision with Julian Champagnie.

The incident occurred midway through the second quarter. As Julian drove to the basket for a tough layup attempt, Edey jumped to contest his shot. Sure enough, the rookie was successful as Julian missed and even hit the deck hard due to the impact. But concerns rose when Edey began checking on his nose as he ran back on offense. Turns out, he took an accidental elbow to his face from Champagnie during the contact play. In a scary sight, Edey’s nose began bleeding, and he was forced to check out of the game to receive treatment.

But it didn’t end there!

When the second half began, Edey was nowhere to be found. And it was later reported that he would sit out the remainder of the game, and is likely being evaluated for concussion. With that call, the rookie’s night ended early, finishing with only 4 points and four rebounds in seven minutes.

Obviously, this is a massive blow to the team because Edey is having a solid rookie year, averaging 9.7 points and over seven rebounds. Moreover, the Grizz will be left with a major void if he is forced to miss games because of tonight’s incident. Fortunately, the Memphis franchise did not lose focus tonight despite losing their star rookie.

Grizzlies dominate Spurs despite Zach Edey setback amid Ja Morant’s absence

With Zach out, the rest of the Grizzlies squad stepped up big time. Especially Santi Aldama. Yes, the backup forward led the game in scoring and went off for 29 points and nine rebounds. Meanwhile, five other players on his team scored in double digits. Sure enough, the Grizzlies blew the Spurs out by 28 points because of the amazing team effort.

That’s exactly the kind of next-man-up mentality that has helped them rank third in the West standings!

Surely, tonight’s win will be a massive confidence booster for them. More so because their best player, Ja, was also out of action because of a foot injury. And once he returns and Edey gets cleared to play again, the Grizzlies can continue to dominate and even become legitimate title contenders. Do you agree?