Grizzlies’ Ja Morant out with knee injury against Warriors in Game 4,
Kuminga gets second start
Warriors-Grizzlies: Ja Morant will sit out for Game 4 with knee injury.
Jonathan Kuminga will start for Golden State
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 7: Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant
battles for the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors’ Jordan
Poole and Andrew Wiggins in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of a
second-round NBA basketball playoff series at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News
Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 7: Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant
battles for the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors’ Jordan
Poole and Andrew Wiggins in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of a
second-round NBA basketball playoff series at Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News
Group)
By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2022 at 5:47 p.m. | UPDATED: May 9, 2022 at 6:41 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/09/grizzlies-ja-morant-out-with-knee-injury-against-warriors-in-game-4/

SAN FRANCISCO — Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant will miss Game 4
with a knee injury, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Monday evening
at his pregame media session.

Morant injured his knee in Game 3 and departed midway through the fourth
quarter of the Warriors’ blowout win on Saturday.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant underwent an MRI but declined
to share what the test revealed. Morant did not do much during
shootaround on Monday afternoon and was on the court with his teammates
in sandals and sweats.

Jenkins said after Saturday’s game that Morant’s injury came when
Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed at the Grizzlies star’s leg during a
loose-ball play. He reiterated that Sunday after Memphis’ practice session.

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The Grizzlies are 20-5 without Morant this season and Jenkins said the
team’s scheme will not change much without Morant in the lineup.

“I always say it’s not about doing more, it’s just doing better,”
Jenkins said. “It’s just executing our system better on the offensive
end, the way we play with pace and share the ball. Guys elevated their
games during those stretches and then defensively, obviously, we did not
play to our standard the last game.

“We just got to play to our standard… with the effort, the urgency,
attention to detail, we just got to scrap out there, we’ve got to
rotate, we got to fly around. This is a tough cover for us but it’s
obviously playoff basketball, we just got to raise our level.”

With coach Steve Kerr out for the game due to health and safety
protocols, assistant coach Mike Brown — recently signed on a four-year
deal to coach the Sacramento Kins — took over head coaching duties for
Game 4. Since Gary Payton II fractured his elbow in Game 2 on a flagrant
two foul by Dillon Brooks, his spot in the starting lineup has been in flux.

Jonathan Kuminga will start Game 4, his second career playoff start. He
started Game 3, becoming the youngest player to start a playoff game at
age 19. But he was shaky to start, perhaps trying a little too hard to
make plays happen, Kerr said after the game.

Here’s the Warriors’ lineup for Game 4:

Steph Curry

Klay Thompson

Jonathan Kuminga

Andrew Wiggins

Draymond Green

Otto Porter Jr. may not be starting Game 4, but he’s been an integral
part of the Warriors’ success so far and should be in Game 4. The
Warriors outscored the Grizzlies by 49 points when Porter is on the
floor in this series. In Game 3, he scored 13 points and had his first
multi-3-point game since the regular season. He’s also one of their best
rebounders, grabbing four on Saturday. He finished plus-30 in Game 3.

“It’s not a coincidence,” Kerr said. “He just understands how to play.
He’s in the right spot all the time, he’s made a huge impact on our team.”

The Grizzlies will start Dillon Brooks, back from his one-game
suspension along with Steven Adams at center. Adams could be a foil to
the Warriors’ domination on the boards. Starting, also, will be Jaren
Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones.

--
Shayna Rubin | Oakland Athletics reporter