"It was dirty!" Warriors Suffer Major Injury Blow

A terrible break for the Golden State Warriors, who have lost a major part of their gameplan after Gary Payton II suffered a fractured elbow in Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Fractured left elbow for Gary Payton II. MRI tomorrow to better understand how severe. But just a major blow for the Warriors.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 4, 2022

The injury occurred after a hard foul to the head by the Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks, who was assessed a flagrant foul 2 on the play. 

Brooks clubbed Payton on the side of the head as he was going up for a basket, causing him to fall awkwardly—and hard—on his left arm. X-Rays revealed the broken elbow.

According to Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle, injuries like a broken elbow "typically result in the player being in a splint or cast for at least three to six weeks, often not returning to game action for months — sometimes even a year or so." 

This is a huge blow for what the Warriors do, even, as Letourneau writes, "to their championship aspirations."

Payton II was an undrafted player who bounced around the league for a few years, before landing on the Warriors last season, and elevating his game to starter's status with his energetic play on both sides of the ball. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was not happy with the play, to say the least.

Stephen Curry shared his thoughts about Gary Payton II’s injury.

“I feel bad for GP, this is his time to shine in a series like this, and a play like that knocks him out. It's tough.”

— Mark Haynes (@markhaynesnba) May 4, 2022

"It was dirty," said Kerr. "There's a code in this league that you follow: You never put a guy's season/career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in mid-air... Dillon Brooks broke the code."