Grizzlies' Marcus Smart (finger) out at least next 6 weeks

This season for Memphis, Marcus Smart is averaging a career-high of 14.5 points per game.

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The Memphis Grizzlies announced Thursday that guard Marcus Smart will miss the next six weeks with a right ring finger injury. Per the team, Smart’s injury is a rupture of the proximal interphalangeal joint central slip and he will be re-evaluated in six weeks.

Smart’s injury occurred in a 120-109 win against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 9.

What happened: Smart left that game with 7:38 left in the third quarter with a dislocated finger. After making a 3-pointer, Smart noticed that his finger was gruesomely out of place while extending his hand to celebrate.

That game was Memphis’ first since learning it would be without leading scorer and All-Star Ja Morant for the rest of the season (shoulder surgery).

Smart’s impact: Before his injury, Smart scored 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting as the Grizzlies beat the Mavs, who had won three straight and four of their last five.

In the offseason, the Grizzlies acquired Smart with the expectation that his pairing with Morant would provide Memphis’ backcourt with a high-scoring player (Morant) and a top-tier defender (Smart). Unfortunately, due to a suspension mandated by the league, Morant sat out the first 25 games of the season. Even when he returned, he only played six games with Smart before his season was prematurely ended.

In terms of statistics, Smart is currently achieving his career-high average of 14.5 points per game, along with 2.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a record 2.1 steals per game. His absence exacerbates the already strained Memphis backcourt following Morant’s exit, which has also been missing veteran Derrick Rose due to a hamstring issue for the past three games.

The Grizzlies, with a 14-23 score, hold the third-lowest record in the Western Conference, trailing eight games behind the Houston Rockets for the 10th position in the West. Considering the six-week timeline, Smart’s possible comeback might align with the Grizzlies’ return from the NBA All-Star break towards the end of February.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.