Payton II injured, Brooks expelled!

“I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Dillon Brooks’ foul on Gary Payton II, who suffered a broken left elbow. Tuesday in the loss at Memphis. “Basketball in the playoffs is supposed to be physical, everyone has to fight. Everyone has to fight for everything. But there’s a code in this league that the players follow that you never put the season or a guy’s career in jeopardy, mowing him down mid-air and hitting him in the head, only to fracture his elbow,” Kerr said bitterly. “Dillon Brooks broke that code. That’s how I see it,” he added.

The Grizzlies player, who equalized with a victory everywhere (106-101), carried by their phenomenon Ja Morant author of 47 points, was excluded immediately after his gesture which occurred at the very start of the match. He risks a suspension of one or more games, if the NBA deems that a sanction is appropriate to the extent of the seriousness of the injury caused. If he has to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) on ​​Wednesday to assess the ligament condition of his fractured elbow, it is already certain that Payton II will not play again this season.

Aged 29, the leader joined Golden State last year from the Raptors 905 playing in the G League, the antechamber of the NBA. “He’s a guy who’s worked hard for the last few years in this league, finally found a home and was playing like crazy this year,” Kerr said.

Elbow in the eye and middle fingers

“The play-offs, it must have been the time of his life. And a guy comes and hits him on the head in midair,” he still cursed. “It’s a tough way to start the game,” said team leader Stephen Curry. “I feel bad for Gary. It was his time to shine and an action like that knocks him out. He’s a badass, so when you see him in pain like that you know it’s not isn’t something lighthearted. And when something like that happens, it pisses you off.” The Warriors were not spared blows in this meeting, since, also in the first quarter, Draymond Green took an involuntary elbow from Xavier Tillman which opened his right eyelid.

Gone to the locker room to get stitches, the winger was roundly shouted down by the public and responded with middle fingers. Which will cost him an inevitable fine from the league. “If you boo someone who’s bleeding from the eye, after being elbowed in the face, you should get fired. If they want to play bad guys, I can be too. The fine , I’ll take it… I’m making $25 million a year, that should be fine.”