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Grizzlies/Warriors Notes: Morant, Iguodala, Brooks, Green

May 4th, 2022 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Despite having his vision affected after he was poked in the eye in the third quarter, star guard Ja Morant had one of the most impressive performances of his career on Tuesday, scoring 47 points – including the Grizzlies‘ final 15 points – to lead the team to a Game 2 victory over Golden State. Morant told reporters after the game that he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye in the fourth quarter, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I can see on the middle. I can’t see on the outside. I got punched trying to get the rebound,” Morant said. “I got another good eye over here (on the right side) — 20-20 vision right here. Thank God for my right eye.”

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details, the Warriors had no answer for Morant after Gary Payton II left Tuesday’s game due to a fractured elbow, and will have to reassess their game plan for defending the electric 22-year-old prior to Game 3 on Saturday.

When asked after Tuesday’s game about the Warriors’ plan for Morant, head coach Steve Kerr said the club hopes Andre Iguodala (neck) will be available for Game 3, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. However, Iguodala is 38 years old and has battled injuries for much of the season, so Golden State can’t realistically expect him to shut down one of the league’s top scorers.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies/Warriors series:

Kerr was upset by the flagrant foul that injured Payton and earned Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks an ejection, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes. “I don’t know if it was intentional, but it was dirty,” Kerr said. “There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy’s season [or] career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary’s elbow … He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code.”
The NBA is expected to further evaluate Brooks’ foul to see if it warrants a suspension, Andrews writes. Since there will be three off days before Game 3 tips off on Saturday, an announcement from the league shouldn’t necessarily be expected today.
Draymond Green, who briefly returned to the locker room after taking a hit to the right eye, had no regrets about flipping his middle fingers to the crowd on his way off the court, Andrews notes. “You gonna boo someone who was elbowed in the eye and face is running with blood, you should get flipped off,” Green said. “I’ll take the fine. I’ll do an appearance and make up the money. It felt really good to flip them off. … If they are going to be that nasty, I will be nasty too. I’m assuming the cheers were because they know I’ll be fined. Great — I make $25 million a year. I should be just fine.” Green got back in the game after receiving stitches for a right eye laceration, but Kerr said the former Defensive Player of the Year “was struggling” with the injury.

Gary Payton II Leaves Game 2 With Left Elbow Fracture

May 3rd, 2022 at 11:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

11:45 PM: Payton has fractured his left elbow, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter). Slater notes that tomorrow’s MRI will indicate the severity of the injury.

9:33 PM: The Warriors‘ second-round playoff matchup against the Grizzlies remains chippy as Game 2 takes place tonight.

After taking a hard foul from Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks on a breakaway drive (Twitter video link, as captured by Bleacher Report), Warriors starting shooting guard Gary Payton II exited the contest and headed back to Golden State’s locker room. Brooks was instantly assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.

The Warriors announced (via Twitter) that they have ruled out Payton for the rest of Game 2, following X-rays on his left elbow (Twitter link). Payton logged just 2:52 of game action.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that the imaging on the elbow proved “inconclusive,” but that Payton would undergo an MRI tomorrow that would hopefully have more answers for the Warriors.

Payton’s Golden State teammate Draymond Green also left the game after a Grizzlies player fouled him. Memphis center Xavier Tillman elbowed Green in the face, as Trisha Easto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal recaps. Green flashed a rude hand gesture in response to the FedEx Forum crowd, which could incur an NBA fine. The Warriors revealed (Twitter link) that Green suffered a right eye laceration and received stitches. He returned to the contest after being sewn up.

Pacific Notes: Green, Poole, Booker, Kings Job

May 2nd, 2022 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Draymond Green picked up a Flagrant Foul 2 in the second-round opener against the Grizzlies but he’s not going to alter his style, Kendra Andrews of ESPN writes.

“I am never going to change the way I play basketball,” the Warriors forward said. “It’s gotten me this far. Gotten me three championships, four All-Stars, Defensive Player of the Year. I’m not going to change now.”

We have more out of the Pacific Division:

Jordan Poole‘s dramatic improvement is chronicled by Andrews in a separate story. The Warriors’ guard put in extra work during the early days of the pandemic and it has paid off. Poole’s 31-point, nine-assist game against Memphis on Sunday was the latest example of his breakthrough year. “I’ve always made people eat their words,” Poole said. “I never went to the media and said anything about anybody else. I just shut up, take it all in and let my game do the talking. It feels a lot better. Oh, my god, it feels so good.”
Prior to the conference semifinals matchup against Dallas on Monday night, Suns All-Star Devin Booker said the hamstring injury that cost three games in the opening round is no longer an issue, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “Feels great. Ready to go,” Booker said.
Among the three finalists for the coaching job, Mike Brown is the Kings’ best choice, James Ham of The Kings Beat opines. Brown checks all of the boxes, has the best résumé, and deserves another head coaching opportunity, Ham writes. Steve Clifford would be a safe choice but hasn’t enjoyed previous success like Brown, while Ham believes Mark Jackson would be a major risk.

Western Notes: Adams, Bane, Gobert, Bullock, Green, Clarke

May 2nd, 2022 at 8:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A day before Game 2 of his team’s second-round series against the Warriors, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said that center Steven Adams remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Adams, who was placed in the protocols on Thursday, is listed as out for Tuesday’s game, the team’s PR department tweets. Starting guard Desmond Bane is listed as questionable due to lower back soreness. Bane was limited to nine points in 32 minutes in Game 1 on Sunday.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Rudy Gobert and his agent are still awaiting their annual exit meeting with the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. That meeting will likely determine how the two sides proceed going forward into the offseason, Jones adds. Utah is expected to shake things up after another early playoff exit. Gobert has four years remaining on his five-year, $205MM contract.
Reggie Bullock‘s defensive importance was so profound against the Jazz that the Mavericks played him 254 of a possible 288 minutes in the series. Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes an in-depth piece on Bullock and how personal tragedies have shaped his career. Bullock is in the first year of a three-year deal, though the final season isn’t fully guaranteed.
The NBA upheld Draymond Green‘s Flagrant Foul 2 ruling in Game 1 of the Warriors’ series against the Grizzlies. The player who was fouled, Brandon Clarke, wasn’t surprised that Green committed such an infraction (ESPN video link). “He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career. I’ve watched him on TV my whole life, it feels like, so I wasn’t really shocked,” Clarke said.

NBA Won’t Rescind Draymond Green’s Flagrant 2 Foul

May 2nd, 2022 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA won’t reduce or rescind the Flagrant 2 foul assessed to Warriors forward/center Draymond Green in Game 1 of the team’s series vs. Memphis on Sunday, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Green was called for the Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game late in the second quarter after grabbing and pulling the jersey of Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke as Clarke attempted a layup (video link).

As we relayed earlier today, Green expressed optimism during an episode of his podcast on Sunday night that the league would review and adjust the foul, perhaps reducing it to a Flagrant 1. However, it appears that won’t happen.

Players are given two flagrant foul points for a Flagrant 2 foul and one for a Flagrant 1 during the postseason, with four total flagrant foul points resulting in an automatic one-game suspension. Green is now halfway to that automatic suspension and would be forced to miss a game if he’s called for another Flagrant 2 or two Flagrant 1 fouls during the remainder of the playoffs.

Pacific Notes: Green, Nurse, Lakers, Ayton

May 2nd, 2022 at 11:14am CST by Luke Adams

Having received a costly suspension for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after having accumulated four flagrant foul points during that postseason, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green is conscious of not repeating that mistake in this year’s playoffs, writes Eric He of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Green was called for a Flagrant 2 foul in Sunday’s win over Memphis, resulting in two flagrant foul points. If he’s called for another Flagrant 2 foul or two Flagrant 1 fouls in this year’s postseason, he would subject to an automatic one-game suspension.

“My biggest worry moving forward is that gives me two flagrant foul points, and as we know I’ve been ejected for accumulation of flagrant foul points,” Green said, per He, during an emergency episode of his podcast on Sunday night. “So I’m hoping that the right thing will happen, and that it will at least get rescinded to a Flagrant 1.”

Green later expressed even more confidence that the NBA would review his foul and make an adjustment: “I’m looking forward to it getting rescinded.”

[UPDATE: NBA Won’t Rescind Draymond Green’s Flagrant 2 Foul]

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Asked today about reports that the Lakers are interested in him and whether he plans to remain in Toronto going forward, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse dismissed those L.A. rumors. “I don’t know where that stuff comes from and I’m focused on coaching this team (the Raptors),” Nurse said (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).
Bill Oram of The Athletic makes the case that the Lakers shouldn’t necessarily trade Russell Westbrook this offseason, arguing that the team won’t have any real chance of “winning” a Westbrook deal since his value is so low. If Los Angeles hangs onto the veteran point guard into next season, it’s possible he could increase his value a little, or new in-season trade opportunities could arise, Oram writes.
Deandre Ayton‘s ability to take advantage of frontcourt mismatches on offense and to capably switch onto perimeter players on defense makes him a potential X-factor in the Suns’ second-round series vs. Dallas, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (subscriber link). Ayton will be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Western Notes: Doncic, Green, Payton II, Wolves

May 1st, 2022 at 9:15pm CST by JD Shaw

Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic acknowledged that it will be difficult to play against Suns Defensive Player of the Year finalist Mikal Bridges, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Dallas and Phoenix will open their second-round series on Monday night.

“They have Bridges,” Doncic said. “I know he’s going to be on me. He’s the best, in the top two guards, him and (Marcus) Smart. But it’s really tough against him. His defense is amazing. It really impresses me. But then on the offensive end, he improved so much that he’s a really amazing player.”

Bridges placed second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, trailing only Smart. Phoenix could have its forwards defend Dallas’ star backcourt (Bridges and Jae Crowder on Doncic and Jalen Brunson), or it could task Chris Paul with defending Brunson. While he’s still a good defender, Paul turns 37 years old later this week.

Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division:

Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected in Game 1 against the Grizzlies on Sunday. Green committed a Flagrant 2 foul and riled up the crowd before exiting, as Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets. The ejection decision was met with outrage from many fans, players and league observers. Players are automatically suspended by receiving four flagrant foul points in the playoffs, meaning Green would receive a one-game suspension with one more Flagrant 2 or two more Flagrant 1’s. He was famously suspended in Game 5 of the 2016 Finals for this same reason and later declared it cost the Warriors a title.
Marc J. Spears of Andscape.com examines where Warriors guard Gary Payton II got his athleticism from. Payton attributes it to his mother, who participated in track, high jump and long jump. His father, of course, is recognized as one of the league’s all-time great defenders and a stellar athlete himself. Payton received his first playoff start against Memphis on Sunday, finishing with eight points and six rebounds in just over 23 minutes.
The Timberwolves realize that progressing after this season isn’t a guarantee and growth isn’t always linear, Dave Campbell of The Associated Press writes. Minnesota gave the No. 2 seed Grizzlies a run for their money in round one, but they ultimately lost in six games. The team has a young nucleus of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and others that could be competitive for many years to come.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Poole, Death Lineup

April 17th, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry made the decision to come off the bench in the Warriors‘ playoff opener Saturday night, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Returning from a left foot sprain and bone bruise that had sidelined him since March 16, Curry scored 16 points in 22 minutes as Golden State posted a convincing win over Denver.

Curry patterned his return on what the team did with Klay Thompson when he came back in January as he got 45 minutes of real-time rest in each game. No decision has been made on whether Curry will continue in a reserve role moving forward, but Thompson knows that his presence can make a huge difference in the series.

“I thought he looked great,” Thompson said. “His shot was short in the first half, but that’s to be expected when you come off a long layoff. But he’s still Steph Curry. … Just his gravity and the threat of him being out there is the best. It makes us a championship team.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

The Nuggets went 3-1 against Golden State during the regular season, but Draymond Green didn’t play in any of those games, Andrews adds. He logged 29 minutes Saturday with 12 points, six rebounds and nine assists and helped to control Nikola Jokic on defense. “You need tough and smart, and that’s Draymond,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Starting in Curry’s place, Jordan Poole surpassed Wilt Chamberlain to become the youngest Warriors player to reach 30 points in his playoff debut, writes Madeline Kenney of The San Jose Mercury News. Poole, who made five of his first seven three-point attempts, was part of a new “death lineup” that broke the game open late in the first half. “Jordan Poole, wow, what a playoff debut,” Thompson said. “All his hard work is paying off. If he doesn’t get Most Improved this year, it just doesn’t make sense.”
Outside of Poole, the Warriors’ young players didn’t get a lot of minutes Saturday, but the team has confidence in them in case they’re needed, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State has been developing them all year long in hopes of getting them ready for the postseason. “They gotta feel it,” Andre Iguodala said. “It’s really hard to explain to them how the intensity kind of turns up in the playoffs.”

Pacific Notes: Green, Poole, Kings, Ranadive, Bridges

April 10th, 2022 at 9:46pm CST by JD Shaw

Warriors star Draymond Green wants to see Jordan Poole win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award this season, Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com writes. Poole has raised his numbers from last season, averaging 18.4 points (up from 12.0) and 4.0 assists (up from 1.9) per contest.

“The award is called the most improved. Not who had the best year. That’s the MVP,” Green said. “A lot of times we get it confused. No disrespect to Ja Morant, but Ja is an MVP candidate. Ja Morant isn’t the Most Improved Player. He was f—ing incredible last year. When you look around, the most improvement has been Jordan Poole and that goes without saying. He is the most improved.”

While Morant was already a borderline All-Star last season, he has raised his averages in 2021/22 as well: 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game on 49% shooting, up from 19.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 7.4 APG on 45% shooting. He’s currently considered the betting favorite for the award.

Here are some other notes from the Pacific Division:

Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee explores how Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has played a role in the franchise’s struggles. Anderson also cites a former team basketball operations employee who called the environment “toxic,” adding that “people don’t trust each other” and “are thirsty to get any advantage or any promotion they can.” Ranadive has been with the Kings since March of 2013. “People are not treated well,” the former employee continued. “They’re not valued. It’s a toxic workplace where there are some super-talented people who either move on or get let go for different reasons. It’s unfortunate because I think people come with really pure intentions and want to turn it around.”
Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines what’s next for the Kings after missing the postseason for an NBA-record 16th straight time. Sacramento finished with the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference this season (29-52), trading away former No. 12 pick Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis in February.
Suns wing Mikal Bridges recently made his case for why he should be Defensive Player of the Year in an interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, explaining why he believes big men win the award too often. “I would never discredit anybody, and obviously bigs have been winning that award for a while and they do a hell of a job, but the amount of times a big has won over a guard is just crazy,” Bridges said as part of a larger quote. “I think people take it for granted how tough it is to guard the top perimeter players in this league and not be able to really touch them because they’re going to get the foul call.”

Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Kuminga, Playoff Seeding

April 5th, 2022 at 8:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors star Stephen Curry has started shooting as he continues to make progress in his recovery from a sprained left foot, writes Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area. Curry has been sidelined since March 16 and will miss the rest of the regular season.

“He is on the court now, getting some shots up,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters Tuesday after practice. “He has been able to ramp things up a bit, and he’s doing well.”

Curry told Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi on ESPN’s “The Bird and Taurasi Show” that he plans to be back for the playoffs.

“My goal is to get back for Game 1 of the playoffs,” Curry said Friday. “Injuries suck. The timing is hopefully on your side in terms of getting back to as close to 100 percent as possible, which is my goal. The boys will hold it down to the end of the regular season.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Draymond Green is starting to look like himself again after playing in back-to-back games for the first time since returning from a lower back injury, as ESPN’s Kendra Andrews relays. “I think there have been a few plays defensively that I can kind of feel me getting my time and rhythm back and covering up some things,” Green said. “Offensively, I’m starting to find my rhythm, too. I have to find my touch again. But other than that, I’m starting to find my rhythm. … It does feel that over the last few games it’s starting to come together for me.”
Rookie Jonathan Kuminga is soaking up knowledge for his first playoff test, Schrock writes in another NBC Sports Bay Area article. “The coaches, everybody, they always talk about it out of the blue,” Kuminga said on Sunday. “So, you just have to listen. Especially when I get a chance to play in certain games with the speed against the good teams, I see it. After the game or at halftime, they’ll be talking about, ‘that’s how the playoffs are going to be. That’s the pressure. That’s how a lot of the crowds will be like.’ As a young player, you’ve got to open your ears and just listen to what people are saying and learn from that. That’s basically what I have been doing pretty much.” Kuminga’s minutes have fluctuated wildly over the past handful of games, but he could be an X factor in the playoffs for a team with championship aspirations.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic explores five storylines to watch in the season’s final week, including the playoff seedings in the West. The Warriors are currently the No. 3 seed at 50-29 with three games remaining, and with one more win or a Denver loss, the team will clinch a top-four seed. However, the Warriors only hold a one-game lead over Dallas, and Dallas holds the tiebreaker due to a better head-to-head record. The Warriors face the Lakers, Spurs and Pelicans in their last three games, while the Mavs face the Pistons, Blazers and Spurs.