During the first quarter of the Memphis Grizzlies‘ Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, Memphis’ Dillon Brooks was ejected after committing a Flagrant 2 foul on Golden State guard Gary Payton II.
While Payton went for what looked like would be an easy layup, Brooks came flying in from behind with a foul as Payton was in mid-air. Payton then fell hard to the floor on his elbow and had to leave the game with an injury.
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr was immediately livid about the foul.
Kerr called the play “dirty” during an in-game interview with TNT.
Well, after the game, it was announced that Payton’s injury is a fractured elbow, and he’ll have an MRI on Wednesday for more details.
In his postgame media session, Kerr — along with referring to the play as “dirty” again — said that Brooks “broke the code” with the foul.
“I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty. Playoff basketball is supposed to be physical; everybody’s going to compete, everybody’s going to fight for everything. But there’s a code in this league. There’s a code that players follow, where you never put a guy’s season/career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in 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 off this year. In the playoffs, this should be the time of his life. A guy comes in and whacks him across the head in mid-air. He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code. That’s how I see it.”
Here’s how TNT’s Inside the NBA crew reacted to Kerr saying that Brooks “broke the code”:
"I don't think Dillon Brooks is a dirty player… I don't think he tried to hurt him."@SHAQ & Chuck discuss Dillon Brooks' flagrant 2 foul on Gary Payton II. pic.twitter.com/69jmoUNnTx
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 4, 2022
Game 3 of the second-round series — tied 1-1 — will be Saturday in San Francisco.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.