Portland listed Ja Morant as day-to-day on Sunday's injury report with a left elbow injury, a new entry with no previous status on file. The designation puts a target return of Oct. 1 on the calendar, six days ahead of the Trail Blazers' opener against the Warriors.
What happened
Portland listed Ja Morant as day-to-day on Sunday's injury report, filed at 4:32 a.m. ET, with a left elbow injury. The report does not list a previous status for Morant, marking this as a new entry. The Trail Blazers list an expected return date of Oct. 1. In its comment, the injury report notes Morant is set to share playmaking duties with Damian Lillard in Portland's starting backcourt after being traded from Memphis. No further detail on how the elbow injury occurred is included in the report.
What it means for the Trail Blazers
Portland opens its season against the Warriors on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. ET, and an Oct. 1 return would have Morant ready in time. Last season with Memphis, Morant averaged 19.5 points, 8.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 28.4 minutes across 20 games. If he is not ready, Portland's backcourt minutes would lean on Scoot Henderson (24.9 minutes) and Jrue Holiday (29.4 minutes), with Shaedon Sharpe (29.4 minutes) also absorbing ballhandling load. The Trail Blazers have not played a game this season, so there is no record to cite with or without him on the floor.
What to watch
The next injury report will show whether Morant's elbow status changes as Portland's Oct. 1 target return date approaches, with the season opener against the Warriors following six days later on Oct. 7. Portland is also managing Damian Lillard, day-to-day with a left Achilles injury, and Shaedon Sharpe, out with a right knee injury, on the same report.
Is Ja Morant playing vs Warriors?
Morant's official expected return date is Oct. 1, six days before Portland's game against the Warriors on Oct. 7. He is listed day-to-day, and no game-specific designation for that matchup has been announced.
When will Ja Morant be back?
The Trail Blazers' injury report lists an expected return date of Oct. 1 for Morant's left elbow injury.