The Ja Morant injury from late in Game 3 of the Memphis Grizzlies blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors Saturday evening could have wide-ranging ramifications for his team.
Morant exited in the fourth quarter on a play in which Warriors star Jordan Poole seemingly reached for his right knee. However, there’s some ambiguity about said injury in that Morant left later in the fourth quarter after trying to contest a Klay Thompson three-point attempt.
Either way, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins announced ahead of Game 4 that Morant will not play with his team looking to tie the series at two.
This comes after Memphis was blown out in San Francisco by the score of 142-112 to fall down 2-1 in the series.
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Ja Morant injury and impact on the Memphis Grizzlies
Surprisingly, Memphis boasted a 20-5 record when Morant was sidelined during the regular season. Even then, this can’t be seen as great news for the Grizzlies. The former NBA Rookie of the Year has been on an absolute roll during the Western Conference Semifinals.
- Ja Morant stats (Western Conference Semifinals): 38.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 7.3 APG, 3.0 SPG, 51% shooting, 43% 3-point
With Morant now out for Game 4, the Grizzlies are going to have to find scoring elsewhere. Jaren Jackson is second on the team in scoring at 20 points per game. After that, only Desmond Bane and Ziaire Williams are averaging double digits for Memphis.
Jenkins and the Grizzlies have not indicated the type of right knee injury Morant suffered. We have no idea whether he’ll be available moving forward.
As for Jordan Poole, the NBA is not expected to fine or suspend him after the play in question. Remember, Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks was suspended for Game 3 after he committed a hard foul on Gary Payton II.
As for the series, it’s been especially chippy between the two sides. We can expect the same in Game 4 following the Ja Morant injury update.