After sitting out most of the 2023-24 season with a shoulder injury and missing this fall with thigh and hip problems, Grizzlies Point Yes Morant attaches great importance to his health. As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon writes, that means he shouldn’t push himself too hard to make risky highlight plays that could lead to an injury.

For example, midway through the second quarter of Tuesday’s game in Dallas, Morant stole the ball and had a clear path to the Mavericks’ net. He decided to finish by slightly potting the ball, which drew some boos from the Dallas fans (video link).

“I try not to immerse myself at all” Morant said after the game. “You all think I’m lying. I’m absolutely serious.

“…Keep booing me.” he added with a smile. “Hey, I got two points. It was still a dunk. It just wasn’t the dunk they wanted to see. But if they boo me because I’m so short, I’m okay with that.”

According to Basketball-Reference, Morant has only dunked four times in 12 games this season. That’s well below average for a player who has been one of the NBA’s top performers since entering the league in 2019. Morant still throws down the occasional highlight slam (video links), but on Tuesday he made it clear that he is looking to minimize his risk of injury if he can help it.

The former No. 2 overall pick injured his hip earlier this season when he was pushed into the air during an alley-oop attempt, resulting in a hard fall to the court (video link).

“Sometimes I get knocked out of the air and (a foul) doesn’t get called, and now I’m out longer than I should be.” Morant said. “Sometimes the foul is called; I still hit the ground, but after the game you could feel that little fall. So I just pick and choose, man. Hey, two points are two points. I can do it. Nothing else matters.”

After winning 56 games in the 2021-22 season and another 51 in the ’22-23 season, the Grizzlies fell to 27-55 last season due to Morant’s limited availability and injuries to several other key players.

Memphis has once again struggled with some health issues so far this season, but has a deep roster and appears capable of keeping up with any opponent if Morant is available. The team has the third-best record in the Western Conference at 14-8 and will look to reclaim its spot as a legitimate NBA Finals contender this spring.

“My focus right now is doing what I can with the team and continuing to try to get to 100 percent (healthy).” Morant said Tuesday.