SAN FRANCISCO – Memphis star Grizzlies star Ja Morant is likely to miss Game 4 on Monday due to a knee injury, head coach Taylor Jenkins said on Sunday.
“He has an additional assessment,” Jenkins said Sunday. “But from what I’ve been told, there’s probably a really good chance he won’t play tomorrow.”
Grizzlies did not immediately specify the exact nature of Morant’s knee injury. But the Grizzlies believe it was caused by a game in which Jordan Poole caught Morant’s knee while heading for trapped basketball near half the court in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
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The NBA will not take any disciplinary action against Poole, a source told ESPN. Jenkins said Memphis executive vice president of basketball operations / general manager Zack Kleiman had been in contact with the league about the game.
“I’m just trying to be up to date here,” Jenkins said when asked what he thought of the play after further review. “That’s what Ja says, that’s what our medical team said after reviewing the game. Ja played great, he felt great throughout the game, and grabbing his knee caused a potential injury and why we took Ja out of the tournament. game.
“Nothing has changed from now on in terms of the game that caused this.”
Morant left the Chase Center on Saturday night without speaking to reporters. But he initially tweeted “breaking the code” with a video of Poole catching Morant’s knee in the fourth-quarter game before later deleting the tweet.
You could see Morant limping to the team’s bus after losing to Memphis 142-112.
Poole said he did not intentionally try to hurt Morant. He and Andrew Wiggins caught Morant close to half the court before Wiggins was called up for a foul at 6:55 a.m. until the end of the game. Morant retired with 6:19 left and the Warriors increased by 17 before returning to the locker room.
“It was a basketball game when we doubled it,” Poole said Saturday. “And I hit the ball and I was aiming for the ball. I mean, obviously, you don’t want to see anyone hurt. I’m not even that type of player. I respect everyone.”
The Grizzlies scored 20-5 this season without Morant, who missed nine consecutive games in March and April due to right knee pain during the regular season.
“Ja’s mood is good,” said defender Thais Jones, who will start if Morant can’t play. “He is obviously disappointed. Every time you are hurt or hit, you are disappointed. [But] his mood is good. He’s still obviously putting in everything to heal and try to get better and try to be there with us, trying to compete and fight. “
Jones added that while he thought the play in question with Poole was an “interesting play,” he said he did not think anyone was trying to hurt anyone on the floor.
“I don’t think Poole or anyone in this series is necessarily a dirty player on this issue,” Jones said. “But it was just an interesting game. That’s all I can really say about it. It wasn’t a normal game that usually happens, but I don’t think he was trying to injure 12 in any way.”
The Grizzlies will bring back Dylan Brooks for Match 4 after the winger was penalized for one Match 3 match for his foul 2 in the opening minutes of Match 2, which broke Gary Peyton II’s elbow. An angry Steve Kerr said Brooks “broke the code” for this rough foul, in which he hit Peyton in the head while the Warriors’ points were in the air and rising for the transition.
Now the Grizzlies, losing 2-1, may be left without their star defender in Match 4.
“When he was on the court, you saw how dominant he is and how much we rely on him,” said powerful striker Xavier Tillman. “So when he’s not on the court, now it’s time to show him how ‘we got you.’ It’s obviously unfortunate for the situation to happen, but now we’re keeping our backs to you, we’ll keep it until you’re ready to go. “
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