The Memphis Grizzlies have played the Golden State Warriors very tough in their second-round series, but they have very little to show for it. The Warriors took a commanding 3-1 series lead on Monday night, winning Game 4 101-98. Of course, the Grizzlies responded to win Game 5 in a blowout, but can they pull a series win with Ja Morant sidelined?
Grizzlies coach Ja Morant recently described Morant’s knee injury as making it ‘pretty doubtful’ he plays the remainder of the series.
It was the second close call for Memphis, who lost Game 1 by a score of 117-116 before winning Game 2 106-101. The only non-competitive game of the series was Game 3 when the Warriors blew the doors off of the Grizzlies, 142-112.
The Game 4 loss was an excruciating one for Memphis. They led for more than 47 minutes of the game, going ahead by as many as 12 points. Golden State didn’t take their first lead until Stephen Curry’s free throw with 45.7 seconds remaining in the game.
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What made that performance even tougher to swallow is that it came without star point guard, Ja Morant. Morant was missing the game because of knee soreness, but it wasn’t anything that the Grizzlies weren’t used to. They went 20-5 without Morant in the lineup in the regular season and looked poised to pull off a huge upset.
Unfortunately, their defense, which had been smothering Golden State all game, fell apart in the fourth quarter when they surrendered 39 points. Things won’t get any easier when they return home for Game 5, as Morant’s status is up in the air and seemingly trending toward him being out again.
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The Grizzlies showed they were going to need a better performance from Dillon Brooks, who single-handedly shot them out of Game 4 with hero-ball shots that went awry en route to a 5-of-19 performance from the field. It was surprising to see Taylor Jenkins continue playing him despite his struggles.
The Memphis Grizzlies have shown they are more than capable of holding their own even with Ja Morant out of the lineup. They answered right back in Game 5 with a massive win without Morant in the lineup — outscoring the Golden State Warriors 134-95 to protect their home floor.
