When Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks committed a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II, in an eventual 106-101 Game 2 Memphis win, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had harsh words for the play. “There’s a code that players follow,” Kerr said at the time. “Dillion Brooks broke the code.” Payton fractured his elbow and is set to miss three-to-five weeks of postseason play with the injury. Brooks was subsequently suspended for one game.
Now that the shoe is potentially on the other foot, Alex Kennedy of Basketball News wonders if the code was broken once again in Game 3, a 142-112 Warriors win. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed Grizzlies All-Star point guard Ja Morant‘s right knee on a play, and Morant subsequently left the contest with an apparent injury. Morant initially tweeted a video of the Poole foul, while quoting Kerr’s “broke the code” comment. Morant has since wiped that post.
“I don’t have a take,” Kerr said of the interaction, per Mark Medina of NBA.com (via Twitter). “There’s nothing to comment on.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies center Steven Adams deserves to return to the Memphis starting lineup, opines Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Though the more athletic and switchable Xavier Tillman has supplanted Adams at center for the Grizzlies’ last six contests, Cole believes the rebounding of Adams will be key for Memphis against the smaller Warriors. The burly big man is also excellent at the kinds of little plays that may not show up in box scores, such as devastating screen-setting.
- The Pelicans have a variety of intriguing roster-building decisions to make during their offseason. Will Guillory of The Athletic discusses a handful of issues for New Orleans this summer, including potential extensions for new additions CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr., the team’s future at point guard, the fate of Jaxson Hayes, and more. The first part of Guillory’s series on the Pelicans’ offseason was previously linked here.
- Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic has flexed plenty of playoff muscle this postseason, leading Dallas to its first second-round appearance in 11 years. Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes that Doncic proved his mettle in his winning both a EuroLeague title and EuroLeague MVP in 2018, prior to arriving stateside in the NBA draft. He has been training his whole life for this moment. Henderson notes that Doncic has been playing basketball since he was seven months old. His father Sasa Doncic was a pro in various European leagues. “I played basketball because (my dad) played basketball,” Doncic said. “I was always with him on the court. Always at the games just shooting basketballs.”
I still think the light foul is unlikely to injure the players
It’s not related to injury
Comparing a wind up hit to the head while a player is vulnerable and up in the air to a swipe at a ball that barely touches the knee is not the same thing. Grizzlies will do anything to get Poole suspended even tried to claim he should of been suspending for leaving the bench on a injury time out. Win it on the court.
Now we are at barely touches the Knee.
This is comical.
There was certainly a difference in velocity, but also in going for the ball. Dillon almost got it. Poole’s yank had nothing to do with the ball.
Time for Tyus Jones to boost his FA stock.
It wasn’t dirty. Moving on…
If Ja is out and Memphis starts getting crushed, they better watch out for retaliation fouls on Klay and Steph.
These 2 teams are not dirty or retaliatory. They are both very competitive and want to win badly. Lets play ball and hope Morant will be back asap.
@afsooner02… & that would be well deserved, as GSW is like MIA west, 2 truly dirty teams!
As a matter of fact teams with no much talent they need to be dirty to compensate, but, for some reason the league likes them & they get away with it!
Kerr is such a coward, if he was a real man, would have come out & say Poole broke the code too, but he is nothing but a chicken & now he has no comment, it really beggars believe that dudes like him can coach NBA teams, SMH!!!
Not even close!
Doncic (among a few others) ruins the game for me. Almost to the point where I’ll stop watching in some instances. The only award Doncic deserves is for his acting, theatrics, and whining. What an overrated player. Just touch the guy and he’s on the floor in “pain.” Plus he gets away with constantly bangin’ into the defender on him. It’s ridiculous! The Suns-Mavs series is one of the worst officiated I’ve seen in decades.
As for GSW and Memphis, I’ve always been an advocate that if you “foul” or hit someone and they’re injured due to that hit. The player who commited the act should be suspended for as long as the other player is out due to injury. That will cut down on questionable hits like Brooks on GPII.
Overrated? He was averaging the same amount of PPG in their playoff career as Michael. No, I don’t think he’s as good as MJ, but overrated? Stop
Whining about whining? Bad look
Jordan Poole definitely grabbed and pulled Ja Morant’s knee; whether he intended to hurt him isn’t the point
link to cbssports.com
link to si.com
Poole claims he was going for ball?? Then why grab the knee. Coping a feel ???? Then why yank it. All this while up 20 pts. He learning from best DirtyDra ……
link to espn.com
No one intentionally is trying to hurt players. But it happens. Ask Brooks. Why is no one talking about FACT. After two flagrant dirty plays. Poole thinks it’s ok to grab his bad knee while up 20. SUCIO …… DirtyDra and the dirty Warriors
“It’s a basketball play,” he said. “We doubled him and I went for the ball. Obviously, you don’t want to see anybody get hurt. I’m not even that type of player.
“I respect everybody. So obviously, hopefully, he gets better.”
This Poole lying ….. DirtyDra style.
What basketball play is grabbing a knee.
Oh I grabbed his knee and it felt like the ball, it’s so round. That I had to yank it.
Poole was about to get 40 dropped on him AGAIN . He did not want go in record books. DirtyDra and his protege PollutedPoole