Warriors look to rebound without ace defensive guard
MEMPHIS, TENN. >> Gary Payton II, one of the Warriors' best defenders against Ja Morant, was a casualty of Tuesday night's slugfest that was Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Payton is sidelined indefinitely with a fracture to his left elbow after Dillon Brooks swung at him from behind as the Warriors guard went up for a transition layup. A trailing Brooks hit Payton in the head and the force caused a soaring Payton to fall hard to the court on his shooting arm.
The Warriors expected Tuesday's game, which resulted in a 106-101 loss, to be their most intense battle of the season, but coach Steve Kerr said there's a clear line between being physical and reckless.
“You don't hit a guy in the head when he's midair, club him and break his elbow,” Kerr said after the Warriors' loss. “That's where the line is.”
Brooks received a Flagrant 2 foul for the contact and was ejected. After the game, several members of the Warriors expressed displeasure for what they viewed as unnecessary contact by Brooks, with Kerr calling the play “dirty” and accusing the Grizzlies forward of breaking the league's unspoken “code” about going after defenseless players and jeopardizing a person's season/career.
An X-ray of Payton's arm during the game revealed the fracture. An MRI on Wednesday will give the Warriors a better idea of the severity of the injury.
Regardless, the loss of Payton was a huge blow for the Warriors, who are looking to rebound from the tough loss as the series shifts to San Francisco.
The Grizzlies have seen a massive drop in production from starter Desmond Bane as he's been hampered with a back injury. It's bad news for Memphis, but good for the Warriors, who are still more than capable of putting the young Grizzlies team in their place to take the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
That is, if they find a solution to contain Morant with Payton presumably out of the picture.
Kerr tapped Payton to start the last two playoff games in place of Jordan Poole because he was the team's best line of defense against Morant.
In Game 1, Payton saw the second most time guarding Morant, limiting the Allstar guard to five points on 2-of-6 shooting in nearly four minutes, according to NBA'S Advanced Stats. Payton's presence and pressure against the speedy and athletic Morant was missed in Game 2 as Morant went off to score a postseason career-high-tying 47 points in the Grizzlies' series-tying win in Memphis.
“Gary is one of the elite defenders in this league and has done a good job on him so far,” Andrew Wiggins said. “So him not being out there is tough.”
The key to stopping Morant is to stay in front of him and keep him out of the lane. And Kerr is optimistic that reinforcement in the form of a seasoned veteran is on the horizon.
Andre Iguodala, who's missed the last four games with a neck injury, is slated to be re-evaluated Wednesday and could be cleared to play for Game 3 on Saturday, Kerr said. If the 38-year-old isn't cleared to play, then the Warriors will have to mix and match to find a solution. Wiggins, who's been an aggressive rebounder this postseason, will also need to continue to step up as well as the rest of the team.
Golden State's morale was clearly battered and bruised after Tuesday's loss.
“The mood is down,” Kerr said. “You lose a game and you walk in the locker room, especially a game you felt like you could've had was right there for you, everybody's bummed out.”
But it is the playoffs after all, and Golden State has extensive experience bouncing back from tough losses.
“It's in our DNA, we know what to do,” Stephen Curry said.
The Warriors ultimately bundled Game 2 by their own doing due to poor shot selection — they collectively shot a horrid 18.4% from 3-point range — and untimely turnovers down the stretch. Those are doable adjustments that can be addressed and made in the next three days.
Payton being unjustly injured might also add extra fuel to the fire for the Warriors who are up for the tough challenge awaiting them at Chase Center Saturday and Monday.
“We're ready to bounce back,” he said. “We're ready to make the necessary adjustments when it comes to turnovers, shot selection and sticking to our defensive principles.”