- The Warriors–Grizzlies series appears to be losing some steam, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian writes. Herrington opines that this matchup was supposed to be the fun playoff series, but injuries, suspensions and hard fouls have derailed its momentum. As we outlined earlier, Grizzlies star Ja Morant is likely to miss Monday’s Game 4 due to a knee injury.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant will likely miss Game 4 against the Warriors on Monday, head coach Taylor Jenkins said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Morant suffered a knee injury in Game 3 and will continue receiving treatment.
Morant finished with a game-high 34 points, seven assists and three steals in the contest, shooting 13-of-21 from the floor in 36 minutes. He appeared to injure himself on a play involving Warriors guard Jordan Poole, who grabbed Morant’s knee as he was swiping for the ball.
“It looks like Jordan Poole grabbed (Morant’s) knee and pulled it,” Jenkins said postgame, per Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (via Twitter).
It’s unclear if Poole will face any discipline for the play. The Grizzlies played without Dillon Brooks (suspension) in Game 3, as Brooks committed a hard foul on Gary Payton II in the previous game. If the Grizzlies lose on Monday, they’ll go home with a chance to force a Game 6 at Golden State.
Memphis went 20-5 without Morant this season. It has the backcourt depth to remain competitive, and De’Anthony Melton or Tyus Jones will likely start at point guard if Morant can’t play.
When Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks committed a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II, in an eventual 106-101 Game 2 Memphis win, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had harsh words for the play. “There’s a code that players follow,” Kerr said at the time. “Dillion Brooks broke the code.” Payton fractured his elbow and is set to miss three-to-five weeks of postseason play with the injury. Brooks was subsequently suspended for one game.
Now that the shoe is potentially on the other foot, Alex Kennedy of Basketball News wonders if the code was broken once again in Game 3, a 142-112 Warriors win. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant‘s right knee on a play, and Morant subsequently left the contest with an apparent injury. Morant initially tweeted a video of the Poole foul, while quoting Kerr’s “broke the code” comment. Morant has since wiped that post.
“I don’t have a take,” Kerr said of the interaction, per Mark Medina of NBA.com (via Twitter). “There’s nothing to comment on.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies center Steven Adams deserves to return to the Memphis starting lineup, opines Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Though the more athletic and switchable Xavier Tillman has supplanted Adams at center for the Grizzlies’ last six contests, Cole believes the rebounding of Adams will be key for Memphis against the smaller Warriors. The burly big man is also excellent at the kinds of little plays that may not show up in box scores, such as devastating screen-setting.
- The Pelicans have a variety of intriguing roster-building decisions to make during their offseason. Will Guillory of The Athletic discusses a handful of issues for New Orleans this summer, including potential extensions for new additions CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr., the team’s future at point guard, the fate of Jaxson Hayes, and more. The first part of Guillory’s series on the Pelicans’ offseason was previously linked here.
- Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic has flexed plenty of playoff muscle this postseason, leading Dallas to its first second-round appearance in 11 years. Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes that Doncic proved his mettle in his winning both a EuroLeague title and EuroLeague MVP in 2018, prior to arriving stateside in the NBA draft. He has been training his whole life for this moment. Henderson notes that Doncic has been playing basketball since he was seven months old. His father Sasa Doncic was a pro in various European leagues. “I played basketball because (my dad) played basketball,” Doncic said. “I was always with him on the court. Always at the games just shooting basketballs.”
Before the controversy over Ja Morant‘s injured knee that dominated the postgame talk after Saturday’s Grizzlies–Warriors game, there was already a strong focus on his matchup with Jordan Poole, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. After three days of hearing questions about his defense following Morant’s 47-point explosion in Game 2, Poole responded by taking the ball at Morant repeatedly Saturday night.
Both players were selected in the 2019 draft, but while Morant was the second pick and his path to stardom was quick, Poole was taken at No. 28 and had to live with an early label of being a bust before proving that he can play. He welcomes the opportunity to measure himself against Morant, Thompson writes, and he responded to a challenge laid down by his veteran teammates to keep competing no matter how many times he’s targeted on defense.
“It’s going to keep happening,” Stephen Curry said. “Whether it’s me, him, whoever. That’s the nature of the playoffs. But you just have to take that challenge seriously. You have to have some pride around it, knowing that they are trying to put you in the actions for a reason. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get a stop every time. It just means you did your job.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- The team’s most important offseason addition has turned out to be Otto Porter, who signed a veteran’s minimum contract last summer, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Porter’s numbers — 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots — didn’t stand out on Saturday, but he was plus-30 in 24 minutes of action and ranks second on the team at plus-76 in the playoffs. According to Kawakami, Golden State tried to sign Patty Mills and Nicolas Batum to a mid-level deal last summer, but turned to Porter when Mills and Batum chose other teams.
- Rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga was the newest member of the starting lineup Saturday night, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Coach Steve Kerr wants to keep Poole in a reserve role and there are spacing issues when Kevon Looney plays alongside Draymond Green, so Kerr opted for Kuminga, who scored 18 points and matched up well when he was switched onto Morant.
- Andrew Wiggins set a personal playoff record with 15 points in the first half Saturday, adding another dimension to the Warriors’ potent offense, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “That’s what we’ve been asking Wiggs to do all year … put your head down and get to the hole,” Green said. “It’s very hard to stop him from getting to the basket. It’s bigger than just dunks. The way he’s been rebounding and the physicality that he’s been playing with and boxing out … he’s been doing an incredible job no matter who he gets matched up on.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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 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.