Bucks vs Grizzlies: Latest Update on Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart Injuries

The latest on two Memphis stars.

Dec 31, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart (36) reacts with guard Desmond Bane (22) during the second half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The snakebitten Memphis Grizzlies will be missing two starters and a bunch of role players tonight ahead of their clash against the reeling Milwaukee Bucks, who are desperate for a win after stumbling to a 1-3 start.

Per the Grizzlies PR team's official X account, both of the team's undersized wings starting wings will miss Thursday evening's action. Starting shooting guard Desmond Bane and starting small forward Marcus Smart are both shelved.

The 6-foot-5 Bane will miss his first game of the season with a right oblique strain. The 6-foot-3 Smart, who had been named the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year with the Boston Celtics while playing his more natural position of point guard, is sidelined with a right ankle sprain. Both had yet to miss a game for the 2-3 Grizzlies.

Smart, who missed all but 20 games last year, has had a miserable start for Memphis this year, averaging a scant 5.6 points on .235/.167/.818 shooting splits, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per bout.

Bane, who himself was shelved for 40 games last season, has gotten off to a modest scoring start by his lofty standards. The TCU product is averaging a still-good 18.8 points on .486/.406/.917 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.

Four bench pieces for the Grizzlies are already sidelined, too. 2024 All-Rookie Team forward GG Jackson II continues to recuperate from an offseason surgery on his right fifth metatarsal. Sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard is on the shelf with a left foot muscle strain. Rookie shooting guard Cam Spencer is, like Smart, grappling with a right ankle sprain. Third-year swingman Vince Williams Jr., who capitalized on Bane's absence with a big 2023-24 run, is dealing with a left tibial stress reaction.

A seventh Grizzlies player may also miss the matchup. Veteran shooting guard John Konchar is merely questionable with a right quad contusion.

The significantly healthier Bucks are in prime position to nab an upset win — especially given that several of the Grizzlies' best wings are now shelved. Milwaukee starters Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr. and even Taurean Prince have proven themselves unable to defend pretty much anyone on the perimeter thus far this season.

Per the league's latest injury report, still-ailing starting small forward Khris Middleton continues to recover from a bilateral ankle surgery. Young wings AJ Johnson and Chris Livingston are on assignment with Milwaukee's NBAGL affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, as is two-way player Stanley Umude.

Most troublingly, eight-time All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is dealing with right patella tendinitis, but is considered probable to play.

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