In yesterday's NBA playoffs, the showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies was fierce.
Gary Payton Jr., the warriors' backcourt defensive snob and the son of NBA star Gary Payton, was fouled by the Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks less than three minutes into the game, falling heavily to the ground and injuring his left elbow. Dillon was blown a second-degree malicious foul and was directly expelled from the game, but Payton Jr.'s injury was not optimistic.
Exiting the game directly, Payton Jr. was diagnosed with an elbow fracture on X-ray examination. After doing MRI again today, Peyton Jr. was found to have ligament injuries in addition to a fractured elbow in his left hand. As a result, Peyton Jr.'s expected recovery time is three to four weeks.
Right now the NBA playoffs are underway, and every game is critical. Payton Jr. is on a three-week hiatus, which means he's basically out of the playoffs. Of course, there are no absolutes, and at the beginning, The Phoenix Suns' Devon Booker also said that he would be absent for three weeks due to a hamstring strain, and the result was soon a comeback.
According to the plan and schedule, if the Warriors can reach the Finals this year, then Payton Jr. will have just enough time to recover from his injury and come back. But from the current situation, the morale of the Grizzlies is high, and the Warriors may not be able to stand out from the Western Conference semifinals. In addition, the Suns are strong, and the Warriors may not be able to defeat their opponents in the Western Conference Finals and reach the Finals.
In this way, Payton Jr. is still highly likely to be reimbursed for the season, which is a big loss for the Warriors. Although Payton Jr. is not the main scorer, he is defensively active and does a good job of protecting rebounds. Without Payton Jr., the Warriors' prospects are less clear.