2 min read • May 04, 2022
Posted in
The Warriors lost two starters within the first three minutes of Game 2 after Draymond Green and Gary Payton II each took inadvertent hits to the head.
Gary Payton II Injury Update
The 28-year-old appeared to suffer a left elbow injury after he was fouled by Dillon Brooks. The Warriors ruled him out for the game with the left elbow injury.
Based on initial video, our ProBasketballDocs are concerned that Payton suffered a left radial head fracture of the elbow. The radial head is the end of the radius where it meets the elbow joint.
If that is the case, is unlikely to need surgery but his status for the rest of the playoffs would certainly be in doubt.
UPDATE, 9:45 PM PST:
Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the game that Payton II indeed suffered a broken elbow. Kerr said an MRI will determine the severity of the injury, mainly whether there is ligament damage along with the fracture.
Brooks hit Payton in the back of the head on a breakaway transition shot attempt and was ejected for the play.
Payton landed awkwardly on his left arm and is currently getting X-rays on the elbow. Because he was attempting a layup, Payton's arm was fully extended when it hit the ground and he was unable to brace the impact on his elbow.
Jordan Poole came in for Payton with 9:08 left in the first quarter and Damion Lee was subbed in for Klay Thompson in Poole's normal substitution pattern.
Payton was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 1 as the designated Ja Morant defender and scored six points with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in the contest.
UPDATE, 8:30 PM PST:
The Warriors announced that the x-rays came back inconclusive and Payton II will undergo an MRI tomorrow back in San Francisco.
According to the ProBasketballDocs, that is not surprising as the radial head is not a long bone and is harder for x-rays to examine. Three-D imaging such as MRI is helpful in non-or-minimally-displaced fractures like this would be.
Hopefully the MRI shows no fractures and only ligament damage or a bone bruise, but the Docs worry that the further tests will confirm the break.
Again, he would likely not need surgery but would still miss between four and six weeks, putting him out for at least the remainder of this round and the West Finals, if Golden State was able to advance.
Draymond Green Injury Update
Green left with 8:94 left in the first after taking an elbow from Xavier Tillman Sr. to his right eye.
The 32-year-old went back to the locker room holding a bloody towel over his eye and received stitches to repair what the Warriors called a laceration.
He returned to the court and started the second quarter. He shouldn't see any ill-effects in the contest.
Written by
