Ja Morant officially out for Game 4 vs. Golden State

It’s not shocking news, but it’s official. The Memphis Grizzlies will be without Ja Morant Monday night.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins made the news official after hinting at the decision prior to a pivotal Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 vs. the Golden State Warriors. Morant suffered the injury in Game 3 and didn’t return, leading to questions about his status as Memphis tries to avoid a 3-1 deficit.

Morant, the NBA’s Most Improved Player this season, is one of the most electric players in the game. During the regular season, he averaged 27.4 points and 6.7 assists per game to help lead the Grizzlies to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference standings behind the Phoenix Suns. Prior to his injury, he averaged 27.1 points and 9.8 assists per contest in nine postseason appearances this year.

Tip-off between Memphis and Golden State is coming up Monday at 10 p.m. ET on TNT. The Grizzlies won’t be the only team going into the game shorthanded, though. Golden State coach Steve Kerr will miss the game, as well.

Kerr will miss the pivotal showdown after testing positive for COVID-19, the Warriors announced Monday night. Assistant coach Mike Brown — who was recently announced as the new Sacramento Kings head coach following Golden State’s playoff run — will take over in the interim.

It’s not the first time Brown will step in for Kerr. He’s done so 11 other times, totaling a perfect 11-0 record as the acting head coach while Kerr recovered from back surgery. He’ll be back in the head chair again Monday, and it could be some good practice before he replaces Luke Walton as the Kings’ head coach.

Golden State has an opportunity to go up 3-1 in the series, especially considering Morant is out as he recovers from the knee injury.