On May 5, 2022, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and in a previous Western Conference semifinals game, the Warriors lost to the Grizzlies, and the big score was pulled to a 1:1 draw by the opponent! Shortly after the game began, Payton Jr. was hit in the head by Dillon Brooks on an attack, then fell heavily to the ground, and then left the field for examination, the initial examination result was a fracture of the left elbow bone.
Recently, according to the famous Shams, Warriors guard Peyton Jr. will be absent for at least three weeks due to a fractured left elbow + ligament injury. This is very bad news for the Warriors, and payton Jr.'s defense is still very important in this Warriors team, and this injury directly leads to him missing most of the playoff games!
Three weeks is long enough in the playoffs that at least until he reaches the Finals, he's unlikely to make the show! If the Warriors can make it to the Finals, he will likely make a comeback. Sources from Yahoo's Chris Haynes revealed that Payton is expected to be out for three to five weeks.
Whether it is 3 weeks or 3-5 weeks, Payton Jr. will miss most of the Warriors' games, and for the Warriors, without Peyton Jr., how to defend Morant in this series is a huge problem. After Payton Jr. was injured in the last game, Morant was unstoppable and scored 47 points in the whole game! So in the next game, who the Warriors will use to defend Morant will be a problem that Kerr needs to solve!
For the Warriors, the team has indeed encountered great difficulties this season, the regular season Klay Thompson just returned, Green was injured again, Green just came back, Curry was injured again, and now it is difficult to play in the playoffs, Payton Jr. is injured again, which really makes fans a little disappointed and distressed!