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The Golden State Warriors‘ NBA Finals win over the Boston Celtics will undoubtedly go down as a landmark moment in the annals of franchise lore. As sweet as it was for the team to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, though, the journey the Dubs had to undergo to even reach that moment in time was really what made it special.
And, if we’re being honest, Golden State’s Western Conference Semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies was just as memorable, if not more so, from a sheer entertainment standpoint.
For their part, the suits in the league office are clearly all-in on the budding rivalry. The powers that be even made the move to bypass the traditional Finals rematch during the next, big Christmas Day showcase in favor of a Warriors-Grizz redux. And the players were stoked about it, too.
Memphis point-man Ja Morant’s feelings on the series are more complex, though. While he was as hyped as anyone about the holiday headliner and he’s also gone out of his way to give the Dubs their flowers, he continues to be pained by his team’s loss in the series.
So much so, in fact, that he’s still dropping hot takes on what went down (or what might have gone down).
Ja Is Convinced That the Grizz Would Have Beaten the Worries & Maybe Won the Title, If…
The Grizzlies cornerstone, who averaged a career-best 27.4 points per game last season, just did a guest spot on The Pivot podcast, which is hosted by former NFL players Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor and Ryan Clark.
During the conversation, Morant was asked what he’s aiming to improve on next season, coming off of a career year, which elicited the following response:
“Number one on my list is being available. Pretty much every season in my three years I had an injury that took me away for a while. And, obviously, like you just mentioned, late in the playoffs that injury took me out of the series.”
The injury he’s referring to is the one he suffered during Game 3 of the Warriors-Grizzlies affair; a contest that his team lost to go down 2-1 in the series. According to Morant, his injury swung the pendulum toward Stephen Curry and Co.
Morant didn’t stop there, though. He also went so far as to declare that his squad should have (or would have) won if he hadn’t gotten hurt; that they were the better team overall.
“I felt like, me personally and my teammates, we were the favorites in that series, and I feel like it was pretty much our year. But that injury caused me to be out and now you have to change lineups and guys are playing without me.”
Gary Payton II Probably Has Some Thoughts on This
Whether things would have gone a different way with Morant on the court as the series progressed, we’ll never truly know. However, it’s probably worth mentioning (again) that the Grizz were trailing after three games. Moreover, Golden State was playing without its best defender in Gary Payton II as a result of a Dillon Brooks cheap shot.
The Warriors and their fans undoubtedly have their own ideas about what might have happened if Payton had seen more than 26 minutes of action in the series. This much is certain — the baller was 4-for-5 from the floor during Game 1 with seven boards, three assists, a steal and a block.
And the Warriors won the game in spite of Morant’s 34-10-9 line.
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