Ja Morant will play for Grizzlies in Game 3

Update: Ja Morant will play for the Grizzlies in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series vs. the Lakers after missing Game 2 with what the team is so far only calling “right hand soreness.”

Morant was previously listed as questionable to play with the injury, and was said to be a gametime decision. Well, gametime is almost here, and the Grizzlies say he’s playing:

Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins had previously given a few updates on Morant’s status about half an hour before news that he would play was officially announced by the team:

These updates comes after the previous ones Jenkins gave team’s practice in L.A. on Friday, where he said that Morant participated — although the session was non-contact — and would be listed as questionable for the game:

How effective Morant will be remains an open question given that Jenkins has said they were worried about his ability to catch the ball, but having him as an option is almost certainly still preferable to the alternative for the Grizzlies. His return will also move Tyus Jones — who brutalized the Lakers in Game 2 — back to the bench, requiring different defensive schemes for Los Angeles against those two units given the two guards’ varying skill sets and abilities.

And with Morant suiting up, look for Jarred Vanderbilt to continue starting after some thought that he could be moved to the bench for Rui Hachimura with no specific target to hound on defense. Now he will likely return to guarding Morant like he did in Game 1, barring a last-minute change.

The Lakers and Grizzlies will tip off at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday night, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN, and locally on Spectrum SportsNet.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.