The Warriors didn’t hold back when discussing Dillon Brooks’ Flagrant 2 foul that ended up in an ejection and a fractured elbow for Gary Payton II on Tuesday night. The play occurred less than three minutes into the contest.
Following Golden State’s 106-101 loss to the Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals, coach Steve Kerr unloaded on Brooks for taking a cheap shot at Payton.
“I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Kerr said. “Playoff basketball is supposed to be physical. Everybody’s gonna compete, everybody’s gonna fight for everything. But there’s a code in this league that players follow, where you never put a guy’s season/career in jeopardy. Taking somebody out mid-air and clubbing him across the head and ultimately fracturing Gary’s elbow. This is a guy who’s been toiling the last six years trying to make it in this league. Finally found a home, playing his butt of this year in the playoffs. This should be the time of his life and guy comes in and whacks him across the mid-air. He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code. That’s how I see it.”
Draymond Green meanwhile, kept it short in his press conference and said, “It was a bulls–t foul.”
Payton and the Warriors are expected to learn more with an MRI on Wednesday, but you have to think there’s a real chance his season could be over. It’s a shame, given that Payton was on the rise and played such a pivotal role in the team’s series-clinching win over the Denver Nuggets in the first round. He is also set to hit free agency this summer and looked primed to receive a multi-year payday before the injury. In reality, the cheap shot from Brooks could have cost Payton tens of millions of dollars.
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Kerr’s credentials within the game are well-known at this point. He was recently named a Top 15 coach In NBA history after leading the Warriors to three titles and he also won five championships as a player, so his words carry some weight within the game.
Brooks, 26, is trying to assert himself with the upstart Grizzlies. Memphis was gonna come out trying to play physical, but Kerr clearly thought Brooks went overboard.
“The line’s pretty clear,” Kerr said. “You don’t hit a guy on the head when he’s in mid-air, club him and break his elbow. That’s where the line is.”
Steph Curry also shared his thoughts on Brooks’ aggressive foul.
“It was kind of out of line in terms of defenseless player going up for a layup, and him taking a huge windup,” Curry said. “Everything bad that could have happened in that situation did.”
Without Payton, the Warriors lose their top on-ball perimeter defender, which is a huge void this series. Take Tuesday night for example, as Ja Morant exploded for 47 points to lead the Grizzlies to victory. Kerr said the Warriors are hopeful Andre Iguodala will return for Game 3 on Saturday, but Payton’s production, energy and impact will be virtually impossible to replace.
“It was missed for sure,” Andrew Wiggins said. “Gary’s one of the elite defenders in this league and has done a good job on (Morant) so far. Him not being out there is tough.”
