Lakers News: Best Player On LA's Tuesday Opponent Under Police Investigation

At least this makes tomorrow's game actually winnable for LA?

Following their surprise 113-105 win over the Golden State Warriors Sunday night, your Los Angeles Lakers continue their LeBron James-less postseason push tomorrow night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

They'll be doing so without at least three key Grizzlies: big men Steven Adams (knee sprain) and Brandon Clarke (ACL tear), and of course, All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who's been sort of soft-suspended from the team for a bare minimum of two games (of which the Lakers game would be the second), but quite possibly a whole lot more, after he brandished a gun in a Glendale, Colorado strip club over the weekend in an Instagram Live video.

Now, the Glendale Police Department has apparently opened up an investigation into the 23-year-old superstar, TMZ Sports and Ramona Shelburne and Liz Merrill of ESPN report. 

This transpired in Colorado, an open-carry state, but, as Shelburne and Merrill note, however, it is illegal to carry a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. In Morant's video, it is not clear if he was drinking (although it sure looks like he was), but he was surrounded by a cadre of exotic dancers with what look to be adult beverages.

In addition to the police, the NBA is also conducting its own investigation into the incident, which at the very least could yield a more significant suspension, which could knock the best player on the West's No. 2 seed out of commission for the entire remainder of the 2022-23 season.

This is a serious incident and our thoughts are with Morant and his family at this time. Here's hoping he gets whatever help he needs and can learn and grow from this and his other questionable decisions off the court this season. He's one of the NBA's most exciting young talents, and it sure would be a shame if he continued down the wrong path.

In the immediate short-term for a 31-34 Lakers team desperate to steal some wins against a moderately tough schedule the rest of the way this season, it behooves them to get a break like this Morant absence.

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