Bruised Warriors look to rebound from Game 2 loss without their ace
defensive guard
Gary Payton II was a casualty of Tuesday night’s slugfest between the
Warriors and Grizzlies
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 3: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23)
checks on Golden State Warriors’ Gary Payton II (0) as he was taking
free-throws after being fouled against the Memphis Grizzlies in the
first quarter of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round Western
Conference playoff series at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on
Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MAY 3: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23)
checks on Golden State Warriors’ Gary Payton II (0) as he was taking
free-throws after being fouled against the Memphis Grizzlies in the
first quarter of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round Western
Conference playoff series at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on
Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 4, 2022 at 1:47 p.m. | UPDATED: May 4, 2022 at 1:47 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/04/bruised-warriors-look-to-rebound-from-game-2-loss-without-their-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 mid-air, 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
All-Star 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.

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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.”

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter