“It was pretty much our year but that injury cause me to be out” – Ja Morant opens up on facing injuries throughout his career, calls it frustrating to be sitting courtside during playoffs
Despite being one of the youngest teams, Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies found themselves on the cusp of contention last season. After winning 56 games in the regular season, they secured the second seed in the Western Conference.
It would not have been possible without Morant. At 22-years-old, he garnered some MVP buzz and averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
Following a first-round victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Grizzlies found themselves pitted against the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately for Memphis, it was there that its run came to an end.
One thing that drastically swung the series was Morant suffering a knee injury in Game 3. After getting hurt, the All-Star guard never took the floor again.
Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins says it's a good chance Ja Morant will miss tomorrow's Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors with a right knee injury https://t.co/65WmKsYqnd
During a guest appearance on "The Pivot Podcast," the former No. 2 pick opened up on Memphis' matchup with the eventual champions. Ja Morant still feels that if he never went down, the Grizzlies would have overcome the Warriors and advanced to the conference finals.
"Number one on my list is being available. Pretty much every season, my three years you know, I had a injury that took me away for a while. Obviously, like you just mentioned late in the playoffs that injury took me out of the series. I felt like, you know, me personally, we were the favorites in that series.
"It was pretty much our year but that injury cause me to be out. And now you have to change lineups and you know guys playing without me. I feel like that's the most frustrating part for me. You know, being out there and not being able to compete."
Is Ja Morant right about the Memphis Grizzlies being able to take down the Golden State Warriors?
As a confident player, it's not shocking that Ja Morant feels the Memphis Grizzlies could have taken down the Golden State Warriors. However, it's tough to build a strong case to justify his statement.
The only strong case Morant has is how things unfolded before the injury. Memphis lost Game 1 by a single point. If a couple of plays had gone the Grizzlies' way, they would have gone into Game 3 with a commanding 2-0 lead.
🗣 "Grizz in 7! Grizz in 7!"
Ja Morant after the Grizzlies blow out Steph Curry and the Warriors in Game 5 👀
https://t.co/m9xZCn2yUG
At the end of the day, experience is the pivotal factor in the postseason. As an experienced team, it's fair to assume the Warriors would have made the necessary adjustments to win no matter what happened.