Sonoma State alumni Jaylen Wells suffered an injury during an April 8 match up against the Charlotte Hornets which will sideline him for the rest of the season. This is especially bad timing for the Memphis Grizzlies, who have benefited from the young star’s stellar rookie campaign and must now fight their way through the playoffs without his support.
Wells played 79 games, averaging about ten points and three rebounds per game before his injury. The former Seawolf suffered a broken wrist, facial lacerations and a concussion as he exited the court. Medical staff said that he would be healthy soon but that he would miss the chance to help his team for the rest of the season.
Although this devastating news was spread throughout the league, Wells kept high spirits by posting to his story an image of his injury while still repping his team’s jersey and adding the text “Go Grizz” from the hospital. He was later discharged and is expected to make a full recovery just after the end of the playoffs.
The former Seawolf took an active role in the recent budget cuts to SSU’s sports programs earlier this year, even coming back to campus to speak about his support for the student athletes while playing in San Francisco for the rising star game. In that game, the shoes he played in were worn to spread awareness for the school’s ongoing issues.
It’s really unfortunate that a red-hot start to his NBA career has been abruptly stopped by injury. But if his performance this season is any indicator for the future of his time in Memphis, he has much more talent to give the team next season.
The Grizzlies were able to get past the play- in tournament despite losing to the Warriors in the opening round. They now look to upset the Oklahoma City Thunder who own the best record in the entire NBA and who had clinched that position since early March.
If Memphis can upset the league’s best regular season team, they would still have to go up against powerful teams which hold many players with playoff experience. This includes teams like the Lakers with Lebron James and Luka Doncic, or the Warriors with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. Regardless, the team will have to adapt and be able to perform even without their standout rookie.
It’s interesting to see how the Grizzlies will try to adapt without the defensive ability of their young rookie talent, but many sources believe the Grizzlies will switch to a more offensive approach with the revitalization of Ja Morant’s offensive abilities giving new life to the team. Will it be enough to make a deep playoff run? Only time will tell.
