The Ja Morant Tweet Saga
Oh boy — things just got spicy.
In an already dramatic and heated series between the Warriors and Grizzlies — Grizzlies guard Ja Morant might’ve stirred the pot a bit too far after the Grizzlies 30 point loss in Game 3.
After getting injured in the fourth quarter, Morant took things to Twitter and posted a tweet with the play in question with the caption “broke the code” — alluding to Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr’s comments towards Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks actions in Game 2.
Warriors guard Klay Thompson came to immediately defend guard Jordan Poole during the post-game press conference.
“We’re not there trying to hurt people or trying to club people in the back of the head on a fast break,” Thompson said. “We play the game the right way.”
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry echoed Thompson’s statement.
“There’s nothing malicious about what Jordan [Poole] did,” Curry said. “There’s no comparison to what Dillon [Brooks] did or Draymond [Green], like nothing in that vein. So, it’s not a joke that Ja’s hurt but all the rest of it is just total BS in terms of the conversation right now.”
To say that the play in question was “dirty” or “malicious” is — for a lack of better words — complete bulls---.
To make the situation worse, Morant actually got hurt on an earlier play. On a closeout to Thompson, Thompson pump-faked and Morant went flying and bumped knees with Thompson.
The Grizzlies have been playing dirty the entire series. Multiple plays in Game 2 had Warriors players grimacing in pain after getting smacked in the head after a “basketball play.”
Is swiping a guy in the head during a fast break and not even attempting to avoid the head area mid-air a basketball play or an unnecessary, dirty and malicious play?
In this clip, Morant “appears” to trip Curry. How’s that for “breaking the code,” Ja? What part of basketball is this? Besides attempting to take out the opposition’s best player to gain an advantage.
Or — better yet — in this very same game — Grizzlies forward Desmond Bane decided to play the wrong sport and tackled Poole and somehow got the refs to call the foul on Poole.
It’s one thing to play a brand of basketball surrounded by toughness and a mentality of never giving in to the opposition. The Grit-and-Grind nature of the Grizzlies has always been the cornerstone of the franchise, but there’s also a line of crossing these boundaries to playing rough and dirty.
Plays like what Brooks did in Game 2 is extremely dangerous and potentially career-ending. Kerr was 100% in the right to call out the Grizzlies on that play.
For Morant to cry wolf and say that Poole “broke the code” shows his true colors.
The tweet might be deleted — but screenshots stay forever. Hopefully the Grizzlies remember this and look in the mirror to decide how they really want to be remembered.
(Photo credit: Joe Rondone/The Commmercial Appeal)