Less than three minutes into the second game of the Western Conference semifinals, Grizzlies flanker Dillon Brooks was directly expelled for a serious foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II, after which the NBA official upgraded Dillon's foul to a second-degree malicious foul.
Slow-motion footage shows That When Payton received a pass from a teammate preparing to go to the basket, Dillon hit him directly in the head, causing the Warriors' outside defensive ace to fracture his left elbow and is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs, while Grizzlies top star Ja Morante made a big splash in the final quarter after missing defensive restrictions to help the Grizzlies win the game.
After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr directly said that Dillon's move was not tough, but dirty, he added that his foul violated the rules, and Warriors top star Stephen Curry also said that Dillon's foul was deviant. So will Dillon's foul be punished further by the League?
Dillon's ability to play in the third game of the Western Conference Semifinals is likely to be determined through the NBA's official review process. While Warriors forward Drummond Green wasn't suspended for a second-degree malicious foul he received in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, the nature of Dillon's foul and Payton's serious injury could have led to a different outcome. After all, also in January of this year, Bucks guard Grayson Allen was found to have been suspended for "unnecessary excessive physical contact" that led to a serious injury to Bulls guard Alex Caruso, and because Dillon's foul also caused Payton to be seriously injured, the Grizzlies wing player is likely to receive a suspension penalty.
Players who are suspended because of the results of the NBA's official review will be automatically suspended for other malicious fouls thereafter. According to the NBA's official regulations, the player will accumulate penalty points for each malicious foul, and if a player accumulates more than 3 penalty points in the playoffs, the player will be automatically suspended for one game. And after the suspension, the player's accumulated penalty points will not be cleared, so if they receive another malicious foul, they will accumulate more penalty points, and then they will automatically suspend two games.
The following are penalty points for malicious fouls:
Level 1 malicious foul = 1 point
Grade 2 malicious foul = 2 points
So even if Dillon is suspended, his penalty points won't reset to zero, meaning any malicious fouls dillon commit thereafter will result in an automatic suspension. With the Grizzlies winning the second game, the overall score of the Warriors and Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals becomes a 1-1 draw, and the next two teams will move to the Chase Center, the home of the Warriors, to usher in the third game of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 8 (Sunday) Beijing time.