Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ja Morant Hurts Knee In Game 3 Loss

May 7th, 2022 at 10:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies star Ja Morant limped out of the arena after injuring his right knee late in tonight’s game, tweets Jared Greenberg of TNT. Doctors examined Morant following the game, but the results haven’t been announced.

The injury appeared to happen on a play where Warriors guard Jordan Poole was swiping at the ball and grabbed Morant’s knee instead. Morant didn’t talk to reporters, but he sent out a tweet with a video link to the play and the message “broke the code,” a reference to what Golden State coach Steve Kerr said about Dillon Brooks after his flagrant foul injured Gary Payton II in Game 2. That tweet was later removed.

In his postgame press conference, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said “it looks like Jordan Poole grabbed (Morant’s) knee and pulled it” (Twitter link from Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian). Jenkins added that he will consult with general manager Zach Kleiman before determining whether to ask the league to review the play (Twitter link).

Morant’s teammates came to his defense after the game. Desmond Bane referred to the play as a “controllable” situation and said that Poole “reached out and grabbed his knee and put (it in an awkward position). It’s unfortunate.” (Twitter link from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). Jaren Jackson Jr. added, “It’s unfortunate to see that type of stuff. But no one here is dirty. It’s unfortunate. You know the code. We’re going to talk about the code all series at this point.” (Twitter link from Marc J. Spears of Andscape).

Poole denied any wrongdoing, saying he was making “a basketball play” (video link from Mark Medina of USA Today). “I’m not even that kind of player,” Poole said. “I respect everybody. I hope he gets better.”

Southwest Notes: Tillman, Jackson Jr., Bane, Alvarado, Ivey

May 7th, 2022 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

As Michigan State graduates, the Grizzlies’ Xavier Tillman and Jaren Jackson Jr. have a tight bond with the Warriors’ Draymond Green, but those feelings are put on hold during the playoffs, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Green and Jackson have sniped at each other through the first two games of their series, and Tillman hit Green in the eye with an elbow as they chased a loose ball, causing him to need stitches.

“They’re going to try to take your head off. I’m going to try to take their head off. That’s just the reality of it,” Green said. “You’re competing for something that you put your heart into … you dedicate a lot of time to this, you sacrifice a lot of things for this. So ultimately, they stand in the way of what I want, I stand in the way of what they want.”

Tillman and Jackson both view Green as a mentor, Barnes adds. Spartans coach Tom Izzo frequently compared Tillman to Green when he was in college, and Tillman incorporated aspects of Green’s game into his own.

“I’ve watched his career every step of the way, trying to figure out how I can mold mine like his and stay in this league for a long time and be productive on the things I’m most comfortable at,” Tillman said.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, who was listed as questionable before Game 2 because of back soreness, is feeling better, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today. “I don’t think he’s at full strength like he was in the regular season, but he’s the ultimate competitor,” coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Coming off an impressive playoff performance, Pelicans rookie Jose Alvarado announced this week that he wants to eventually win Defensive Player of the Year honors. “One day I’m going win DPOY,” he tweeted Thursday. “Mark my word!”
Purdue’s Jaden Ivey may be the most talented guard in the draft, but he might be an awkward fit with the Rockets, who already have Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green in their backcourt, observes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. If Houston ends up taking Ivey, who is consistently projected as a top four pick, Iko believes Porter would move from lead guard to playmaking forward, which was his original position when he entered the NBA.

Steven Adams Clears Protocols, Active For Game 3

May 6th, 2022 at 3:05pm CST by Rory Maher

MAY 6: Adams will be available for Game 3, per Cole (Twittter link). Memphis isn’t sure if he’ll start or come off the bench, but he has made enough progress to play.

MAY 5: Grizzlies center Steven Adams has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols and practiced with the team on Thursday, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Adams has missed the team’s last three playoff games after entering the protocols last week. After leading the league in offensive and total rebounds, the Grizzlies have been outdueled in both of those categories in the first two games of their second-round matchup with the Warriors.

Adams’ possible return for Saturday’s Game 3 would provide a major boost, as he led the NBA in offensive rebounds and offensive rebounding percentage this season and was the team’s top rebounder overall.

“We’ll get him another intense vitamin tomorrow, put him through practice, see where he’s at, and then we’ll kind of make a decision from there,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said.

In 76 regular season games in 2021/22, Adams averaged 6.9 points, 10.0 rebounds (4.6 offensive) and 3.4 assists in 26.3 minutes per contest. The rebounds and assists were both career highs.

Due to a poor matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns, Adams dropped out of the rotation during the opening playoff round. After playing 24 minutes in Game 1, Adams logged fewer than seven minutes of action for the rest of the series prior to entering the COVID-19 protocols.

Taylor Jenkins: “We Are The Furthest Thing From Dirty”

May 6th, 2022 at 8:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins is defending his team against accusations of “dirty” play, writes Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian.

The label started after Dillon Brooks was ejected from Tuesday’s game following a flagrant two foul that knocked Warriors guard Gary Payton II out of the series. Brooks has been suspended for Saturday’s Game 3, and Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he “broke the code” regarding safety among NBA players.

“I also wanted to address a narrative out there that was said between Game 1 and Game 2,” Jenkins said. “It was said that we have to play more physical, and the word dirty has been thrown out there. I look at my locker room and I look at our culture and what we exude — we are the furthest thing from dirty. We are competitive. I want that to be squashed pretty quick here. I know words only mean so much right here. We feel for what Payton is going through and that’s not going to change the course of action, but our guys are going to rally and focus on Game 3.”

Jenkins added that the league has been communicating with Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman since Tuesday night about the possibility that Brooks could be suspended. That gave Jenkins additional time to work on a game plan without Brooks available.

Brooks is Memphis’ best perimeter defender and is extremely valuable in countering the Warriors’ small-ball lineup. He has also become an important part of the offense, averaging a career-best 18.4 points per game this season.

“It’s disappointing,” Jenkins said of the suspension. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance and we will honor the league’s decision. It’s a tough play. We wish Gary Payton a speedy and healthy recovery. You don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”

Brooks’ absence on Saturday will likely mean a larger role for rookie Ziaire Williams, who served as the primary defender on Stephen Curry after Brooks was tossed from Game 2, Hill adds. De’Anthony Melton, who had three blocks and two steals on Tuesday, should see more time as well.

“It’s going to be even more of a grind,” Melton said. “It’s going to take mental focus and physical focus even more. We’ve played without guys before, and great teams without guys. We just have to go in and continue to play hard and play our game and have fun.”

Gary Payton II Out 3-5 Weeks With Fractured Left Elbow

May 5th, 2022 at 2:40pm CST by Rory Maher

MAY 5: Payton’s MRI yesterday revealed muscle damage on top of the fracture and ligament damage, the team announced in a tweet. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks.

MAY 4: Warriors guard Gary Payton II will miss three-to-five weeks due to his fractured left elbow, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Payton’s MRI revealed “slight ligament damage” in addition to the fractured elbow, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic, who adds that the defensive stalwart hasn’t ruled out a possible return later in the postseason as long as Golden State keeps advancing.

Payton suffered the injury less than three minutes into Game 2 of the team’s second-round matchup with the Grizzlies after taking a hard foul from Dillon Brooks in transition — Brooks was given a Flagrant 2 for the play and ejected. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr later called the play dirty, and the league is expected to further evaluate Brooks’ foul to see if it warrants a suspension.

As our JD Shaw notes (via Twitter), Payton received his first career playoff starts against Memphis in an attempt to slow down Ja Morant, who went off for 47 points and eight assists with Payton sidelined. His absence will certainly be felt by Golden State, as he’s the team’s best defensive guard by a significant margin.

After bouncing between the G League and the NBA in his first five seasons and never finding a consistent home or role, Payton had a terrific season for the Warriors in 2021/22, appearing in 71 games (16 starts) while averaging 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals on .616/.358/.603 shooting. Though he averaged only 17.6 minutes per night, his impact was clear when he had opportunities, showcasing jaw-dropping athleticism, a knack for the ball, hustle, and strong defense and rebounding.

In his first six playoff games prior to the injury, the 29-year-old averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1 steal on .727/.750/.667 shooting in 18 minutes. Since Golden State has great shooters like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, opposing teams sometimes ignored Payton offensively.

However, Kerr was creative in calling plays for Payton, who often served as a pseudo-big man on offense — catching lobs, lurking in the dunker’s spot along the baseline, and opportunistically cutting to the basket. Defensively, he was frequently tasked with covering the opponent’s best perimeter player.

Payton will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks Suspended For Game 3

May 5th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies swingman Dillon Brooks has been suspended for Game 3 of the team’s second-round series against the Warriors, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

Brooks was ejected less than three minutes into Game 2 after committing a Flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II, which resulted in Payton sustaining a fractured elbow. The league said Brooks’ “unnecessary and excessive contact” and Payton’s injury factored into its decision.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic observes (Twitter link), Brooks’ one-game suspension mirrors a similar incident during the regular season, when Grayson Allen‘s hard foul resulted in Alex Caruso suffering a fractured wrist.

Brooks will lose $84,138 for the suspension, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Brooks was limited to 32 games (27.7 MPG) during the regular season, with averages of 18.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.1 SPG on .432/.309/.849 shooting. He had an outstanding showing in the playoffs last season, averaging 25.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .515/.400/.808 shooting, but he’s struggled with his shot through eight games this season, averaging 13.3 PPG and 2.1 RPG on a .348/.341/.667 slash line.

The 26-year-old is a hard-nosed defender who did a solid job tracking Stephen Curry in Game 1’s one-point loss, but he shot just 3-of-13 from the floor and picked up five fouls in 30 minutes. Memphis will miss his leadership and versatility.

The Grizzlies/Warriors matchup is currently tied at one game apiece, with Game 3 set for Saturday night in San Francisco. With Brooks out, Memphis will rely on its depth to fill his minutes. Similar to Game 2, Ziaire Williams, De’Anthony Melton and Tyus Jones are likely to receive additional playing time.

Warriors’ Andre Iguodala Out At Least One More Week

May 5th, 2022 at 1:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala will miss at least one more week due to his cervical disc (neck) injury, the team announced (via Twitter).

Iguodala, who hasn’t played since Game 4 of Golden State’s first-round matchup against Denver on April 24, “is making good progress in his recovery and will be reevaluated again in one week.”

After Gary Payton II suffered a fractured left elbow in the Warriors’ Game 2 loss to the Grizzlies on Tuesday, head coach Steve Kerr said the club was hopeful Iguodala would be available for Game 3 in an effort to slow down Ja Morant, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

Morant, exploded for 47 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 2 — including his team’s final 15 points. Obviously, having Iguodala available to defend Morant is off the table for now, as the veteran is still hampered by his neck injury.

Once a crucial part of Golden State’s lineup and an NBA Finals MVP in 2015, Iguodala battled injuries this season and was limited to 31 regular season appearances. However, the 38-year-old had been a part of Kerr’s playoff rotation when healthy, logging at least 12 minutes in three of the team’s first four playoff games. He missed Game 2 vs. the Nuggets due to a bilateral neck spasm.

As Slater notes (Twitter link), Iguodala will be sidelined for at least Games 3, 4 and 5 against Memphis.

And-Ones: Coaching Candidates, Kirkwood, Garuba, Embiid

May 4th, 2022 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Suns assistant Kevin Young, Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, Celtics assistant Will Hardy, Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic, Heat assistants Chris Quinn and Malik Allen, and Warriors assistants Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson are among the assistants around the NBA who are viewed as potential head coaching candidates by league insiders, according to ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz (Insider-only link).

A number of the names on Arnovitz’s list have been linked to one or more of the NBA’s three current head coaching openings. Ham and Brown, for instance, all believed to be under consideration by all three of the Hornets, Lakers, and Kings.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Harvard senior guard Noah Kirkwood, who declared for the 2022 NBA draft as an early entrant, has decided to remain in the draft and go pro rather than using his final year of college eligibility, according to agent Ronnie Zeidel (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
Rockets forward/center Usman Garuba said in an interview with Spanish outlet AS.com that he’s committed to representing Spain at this year’s EuroBasket competition, as Eurohoops relays.
In an intriguing bit of international basketball news, an RMC Sport report indicates that Sixers center Joel Embiid is exploring the possibility of obtaining French citizenship and representing France in future international events. Embiid was born in Cameroon, but has family from France and has never suited up for the Cameroonian national team.

Grizzlies/Warriors Notes: Morant, Iguodala, Brooks, Green

May 4th, 2022 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Despite having his vision affected after he was poked in the eye in the third quarter, star guard Ja Morant had one of the most impressive performances of his career on Tuesday, scoring 47 points – including the Grizzlies‘ final 15 points – to lead the team to a Game 2 victory over Golden State. Morant told reporters after the game that he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye in the fourth quarter, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I can see on the middle. I can’t see on the outside. I got punched trying to get the rebound,” Morant said. “I got another good eye over here (on the right side) — 20-20 vision right here. Thank God for my right eye.”

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details, the Warriors had no answer for Morant after Gary Payton II left Tuesday’s game due to a fractured elbow, and will have to reassess their game plan for defending the electric 22-year-old prior to Game 3 on Saturday.

When asked after Tuesday’s game about the Warriors’ plan for Morant, head coach Steve Kerr said the club hopes Andre Iguodala (neck) will be available for Game 3, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. However, Iguodala is 38 years old and has battled injuries for much of the season, so Golden State can’t realistically expect him to shut down one of the league’s top scorers.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies/Warriors series:

Kerr was upset by the flagrant foul that injured Payton and earned Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks an ejection, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes. “I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Kerr said. “There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy’s season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary’s elbow … He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code.”
The NBA is expected to further evaluate Brooks’ foul to see if it warrants a suspension, Andrews writes. Since there will be three off days before Game 3 tips off on Saturday, an announcement from the league shouldn’t necessarily be expected today.
Draymond Green, who briefly returned to the locker room after taking a hit to the right eye, had no regrets about flipping his middle fingers to the crowd on his way off the court, Andrews notes. “You gonna boo someone who was elbowed in the eye and face is running with blood, you should get flipped off,” Green said. “I’ll take the fine. I’ll do an appearance and make up the money. It felt really good to flip them off. … If they are going to be that nasty, I will be nasty too. I’m assuming the cheers were because they know I’ll be fined. Great — I make $25 million a year. I should be just fine.” Green got back in the game after receiving stitches for a right eye laceration, but Kerr said the former Defensive Player of the Year “was struggling” with the injury.

Gary Payton II Leaves Game 2 With Left Elbow Fracture

May 3rd, 2022 at 11:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

11:45 PM: Payton has fractured his left elbow, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Slater notes that tomorrow’s MRI will indicate the severity of the injury.

9:33 PM: The Warriors‘ second-round playoff matchup against the Grizzlies remains chippy as Game 2 takes place tonight.

After taking a hard foul from Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks on a breakaway drive (Twitter video link, as captured by Bleacher Report), Warriors starting shooting guard Gary Payton II exited the contest and headed back to Golden State’s locker room. Brooks was instantly assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.

The Warriors announced (via Twitter) that they have ruled out Payton for the rest of Game 2, following X-rays on his left elbow (Twitter link). Payton logged just 2:52 of game action.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that the imaging on the elbow proved “inconclusive,” but that Payton would undergo an MRI tomorrow that would hopefully have more answers for the Warriors.

Payton’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green also left the game after a Grizzlies player fouled him. Memphis center Xavier Tillman elbowed Green in the face, as Trisha Easto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal recaps. Green flashed a rude hand gesture in response to the FedEx Forum crowd, which could incur an NBA fine. The Warriors revealed (Twitter link) that Green suffered a right eye laceration and received stitches. He returned to the contest after being sewn up.