Ja Morant is apparently still not over his team’s Western Conference semifinal loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The Memphis Grizzlies star took to Twitter to throw some subtle shade at Golden State, endorsing a tweet claiming that the Grizzlies were the better team in the series but were held back by injuries. Morant suffered a knee injury in Game 3 of the series, watching from the sidelines as Golden State closed out the Grizzlies in six games.
Morant apparently believes it would have been a different situation with him on the court.
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Morant’s Bold Statement
Days after the Grizzlies’ season ended with a Game 6 loss, Morant responded to a fan who suggested that the Grizzlies were still the better team and could have won their first-ever title this season.
“What watching this Warriors Mavericks series has taught me, is that if the Grizzlies were healthy we could’ve won it all,” the fan tweeted. Morant replied with a “100” emoji, sharing his agreement.
If the Grizzlies were healthy, would they have won it all? 🤔
But many fans did not seem to share the sentiment. The NBA on ESPN reposted Morant’s comments on its own Twitter account, asking followers if they agreed with the All-Star guard’s assertion. Most did not.
“They were actually very healthy when blown out by the warriors and they are statistically better without Ja so that question is not based on any ground,” one person tweeted.
But at least one other member of the Grizzlies seems to share Morant’s idea on the teams. After the Game 6 loss, Dillon Brooks suggested that this may be the last year the Warriors get the better of the Grizzlies, saying Memphis is a team on the rise while Golden State is on a downward trajectory.
“They know that we’re gonna come every single year,” Brooks said, via SI.com. “We’re young and they’re getting old, so they know we’re coming every single year, and that’s the way I play. I play for the respect, I play for my peers to respect me.”
Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies’ general manager and vice president of basketball operations, also said the franchise will do whatever it takes to put more pieces in place to make the team a title contender.
“We’re not going to have any issues paying anyone who we want to pay,” Kleiman said, via ESPN. “There’s never going to be any issue with retention here.”
“We’re not worried about small-market notions or any of this or that,” Kleiman added. “We’re not going to have any issue whatsoever keeping together whoever we ultimately decide along the way.”
Morant Shares Appreciation for Curry
While he still believes Memphis was the better team, Morant doesn’t seem to harbor much animosity toward the Warriors. When Golden State star Steph Curry broke out a celebration dance after hitting a dagger three-pointer in a Game 2 win, Morant took to Twitter to share his appreciation.
Morant also seemed to drop any resentment toward Warriors guard Jordan Poole, who he initially blamed for the injury that cut short his season. Poole was going for a loose ball on the play and grabbed Morant’s knee, and after the game Morant briefly suggested that it may have been intentional.
Poole and Ja shook hands before Game 4
Morant seemed to be fine by the time the teams met again, as he and Poole shook hands before Game 4.
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Ja Morant Throws Subtle Shade at Warriors After Contentious Series