Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole won't be punished over his alleged role in the injury of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant.
To recall, Poole has been largely blamed for Morant's knee injury during Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series. Head coach Taylor Jenkins said the Warriors guard “grabbed” the knee of the Grizzlies youngster and yanked it, leading to the issue.
Video replays did show Poole hitting Morant's knee, but he has since defended that it was not a dirty play as he was aiming for the ball during the scramble–and it does appear that way.
Sure enough, the NBA didn't see any malicious intent and decided not to punish it, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
No action will be taken against Golden State's Jordan Poole for his Game 3 contact on Memphis' Ja Morant, NBA says.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cV7Dif
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 8, 2022
For what it's worth, Taylor Jenkins appeared to call for the NBA to review Jordan Poole's play and take action after Ja Morant's injury. After all, their very own Dillon Brooks got suspended after a Flagrant 2 foul that led to Gary Payton II's injury.
Clearly, though, unlike Brook's foul, what Poole did was not on purpose and excessive. Not to mention that there is also a video circulating that shows another possible moment when Morant injured his knee–during which he jumped to distract Klay Thompson only to bump on him.
This appeared to be the play where Ja Morant actually injured his knee, bumping Klay Thompson on the shot contest.pic.twitter.com/qp8en3k08I
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2022
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Morant is considered likely to miss Game 4 against the Warriors. Of course there is still a chance he can play, but that will depend on his recovery between Sunday and Monday.
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