Getty/Ezra Shaw Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies stands on the sidelines and watches his team in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco.
In a matter of days, the Memphis Grizzlies’ playoff prospects went from bad to worse against the Golden State Warriors.
After missing Game 4, Ja Morant saw his team lose a very winnable game. The Grizzlies led the entire way until 45.7 seconds were left in the game. Instead of having a chance to regain home-court advantage tied at 2-2, the Grizzlies are now on the brink of elimination.
To make matters worse, the Grizzlies announced on May 10 that it was highly unlikely Morant will be available for the remainder of the postseason. The Most Improved Player of the Year underwent an MRI and it was revealed he had a bone bruise in his right knee that he injured in Game 3.
Today the @memgrizz announced the following medical update:
After shooting 40% and a paltry 45% effective field goal clip, the Warriors somehow were still able to squeak away the win. With his competitive juices flowing, Morant must have felt that his team would have won Game 4 had he played.
Morant scored an insane 115 total points in the first three games against the Warriors on 51.8% shooting. He was able to get to the rim at will, dishing out 8.3 assists in the process, and 6.7 rebounds.
There was obvious drama towards the end of Game 3’s blowout when Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and the Grizzlies blamed Jordan Poole for being the reason Morant suffered his knee injury. Morant even sent out a tweet that poked fun at Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr about how Poole “broke the code.”
Klay Thompson States the Obvious While Laughing
After Game 4, Klay Thompson was asked at his press conference about the impact Morant’s absence had on the Grizzlies.
“Of course, they miss him [Morant],” Thompson says while trying hard not to laugh too hard. The guy averaged like 30 a night, gets a lot of tough buckets. They definitely miss him.”
Outside of a solid Game 3 performance, Thompson has struggled with his shot, going 17-for-58 from three (29.3%). Just with Thompson’s struggles and the team still up 3-1, the plethora of offensive weapons from the Warriors is downright scary.
Regardless, Thompson wants his team to continue to be on the gas pedal. With all the playoff experience the team has, he acknowledged the clinching games are the toughest.
“Wednesday’s going to be the hardest one yet,” Thompson said. “It always is. The closeout.”
Dillion Brooks Shot His Team into Game 4 Loss
Memphis guard Dillion Brooks returned from his one-game suspension for his dirty foul on Gary Payton II, and was a focal point of the offense without Morant.
Dealing with jeers and boos every time Brooks touched the ball, he finished the game shooting 5-for-19 from the field, along with 2-for-9 from the perimeter. A consensus of the public agreed that the Grizzlies would probably have won the game, had Brooks not wasted so many possessions throwing up contested shots from the field.
Perhaps, Brooks should have been suspended for longer than just one game. Maybe the Grizzlies could have been headed back to Memphis tied 2-2.
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Grizzlies Suffer Another Tough Break Against the Warriors