Warriors’ Draymond Green embracing physicality, emotion against Grizzlies: ‘You gotta want smoke, or you lose’

Two flagrant fouls. Two ejections. One suspension. One broken elbow. One swollen eye. Two middle fingers.

The first two games of the second-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies read more like MMA than basketball, characterized by extreme physicality and accompanying accusations of dirty play.

Warriors forward Draymond Green was controversially ejected in the second quarter of Game 1 after delivering a swipe to the face of Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke and then pulling him down by his jersey. Just minutes into Game 2, Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks was sent to the showers — without much controversy — for delivering a blow to the head of Warriors guard Gary Payton II, resulting in a hard fall that led to a broken elbow and a three-to-five week timetable for a return. On Thursday, the NBA announced that Brooks would be suspended for Game 3 for “unnecessary and excessive contact” which resulted in “substantial injury to Payton.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the play “dirty” on multiple occasions, and suggested that Brooks “broke the code” among NBA players about not “taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head.” On Thursday, Kerr seized the opportunity to launch one more shot at Brooks when asked about his team’s mindset heading into Game 3.

“Just play hard. Battle for every loose ball, battle for every rebound, compete every possession. And, you know, don’t risk a guy’s career if he’s ahead of the play in transition,” Kerr said. “That’s our mantra.”