Kiwi centre Steven Adams will miss the rest of the NBA regular season, after receiving stem cell injections in his injured right knee.
The team have announced that Adams will be re-evaluated in four weeks, with the regular season due to end April 9. Memphis are third seeds in the Western Conference, but have lost three games in a row, as they grapple with mounting obstacles, on and off the court.
Adams hasn't played since January 22, when he strained his posterior cruciate ligament (knee) in a loss to Phoenix.
His absence piles onto the woes in Memphis, where superstar Ja Morant remains suspended for brandishing a gun in a Denver nightclub and Adams' back-up, Brandon Clarke, was lost for the season to an Achilles injury.
Adams, 29, is averaging 8.6 points and a career-high 11.5 rebounds in 42 starts this season, his second in Memphis. He led the league in offensive rebounds, when he was injured.
He has career averages of 9.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in nine-plus seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies were previously battling Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference lead, but have slipped seven games behind and risk falling further down a crowded ladder that sees nine teams within three games of each other, vying for post-season spots.
Adams reportedly headed a players-only meeting to warn his young teammates of their offcourt shenanigans, especially on road trips, but Morant apparently ignored the advice and has been stood down, as he sifts through his problems.
Controversial US sports commentator Skip Bayliss has questioned Adams' ability to rebuke the rising star.
"There's not a veteran leader on the Grizzlies, except for Steven Adams, and I'm not sure he counts, because he's not good enough," Bayless said. "He's not a rising star,
"When he made his comments, I'm sure ears were opened, but when Ja is listening to those comments, they don't just go in one ear and out the other. I don't even think they go in one ear, because I don't think Ja is going to listen to Steven Adams - that's just me."
Reuters/Newshub
