The foul by Dillon Brooks on Gary Payton II has left a very poor taste in everyone’s mouths heading into Game 3 between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies. Brooks committed a hard foul on GPII in Game 2 that resulted in a broken elbow for the Warriors guard. Brooks was ejected from that game and has been served with a one-game suspension for the foul.
Sports media and the internet have divvied up into two camps, one that believes Brooks made a dirty play and a second that believes the foul was accidental. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has clearly planted his flag in Team Dirty Play.
Speaking ahead of Game 3 on Saturday, Steve Kerr spoke about the Warriors’ mantra for this series and the playoffs, to which Kerr responded with a jibe at Brooks for injuring Payton II.
Steve Kerr on the Warriors mantra:
"Just play hard. Battle for every loose ball, battle for every rebound, compete every possession. And, you know, don’t risk a guy’s career if he’s ahead of the play in transition. That’s our mantra.” 🗣️
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 5, 2022
While GPII isn’t one of the stars on the Warriors lineup, he is arguably their best defensive guard. His injury isn’t an insignificant one and could play a role in this series if Morant continues playing as he has had through the first two games. In addition, the Grizzlies will be able to play without Brooks as they have proven how interchangeable their lineup is.
Game 3 will be the first game of the series to take place at the Chase Center, the Warriors’ home arena. A loss there will allow the Grizzlies to steal home-court again and put GSW under a lot of pressure ahead of Game 4.
Brooks will be expected to return for Game 4, but that won’t be the case for GPII. This injury will be talked about no matter what the series outcome is, so Brooks may have to prepare for being under scrutiny until the summer or next season for this foul to be forgotten.
