The Warriors and Grizzlies have played the first two games in the series, the result is 1-1, the Grizzlies have lost 1 home, and the Warriors will have more home advantage in the next game. The two teams met in the playoffs last season, when the Grizzlies eliminated the Warriors to advance to the playoffs, so this round is also a battle of revenge. The G3 Warriors will return to the Chase Center to play at home, and CCTV5 will broadcast live at 8:30 a.m. Beijing time on May 8: Dillon is banned for 1 game, Payton's injury is updated, will Poole start
Both teams will find a lot of variables about this game, with one starter on each side missing, the Grizzlies being Dillon Brooks and the Warriors being Payton Jr. The reason is that in G2, Dillon moved too much during the pursuit, causing Peyton Jr. to leave the field injured, and Dillon immediately suffered a second-degree foul and was expelled. The league then decided to impose a penalty on Dillon and suspend him for one game, so he could not play in G3.
Payton's injury report was also released, and his examination results were fractures of his left elbow and muscle ligament injuries, which could not be reviewed until 2 weeks later. Although the results of the inspection were better than expected, Payton at least definitely missed the rest of the series, and if the Warriors can reach the Western Conference Finals, Payton will miss some games. Cole was desperate, and he directly rebuked Di Long in the interview, saying that his foul was the worst he had ever seen.
Payton Jr. can be said to be a very inspirational player, he participated in the NBA draft but failed, before whether in the Bucks, Lakers and Wizards, can not be reused, it is difficult to get the opportunity to prove themselves in the Warriors, but in a pinch was violated by the opponent and injured. Payton is the warriors' player to defend Morant, and in his previous 5 meetings, Morant was 4 of 18 under his defense, which was remarkable. After Payton left the court injured, Morant burst out with 47 points to reverse the game.
The elder Payton was furious about his son's injury, and he applied to the Warriors management to sit behind the Grizzlies bench, believing that the Grizzlies bench would be buzzing with bad words, and it was possible that the head coach would be upset.
Kerr then has to face the problem of changing the lineup, and who will replace Payton's starting position depends on the Warriors' strategy. The Grizzlies are likely to usher in Adams' comeback, and with the addition of Jarren Jr., the Grizzlies have a very strong interior configuration. So in order to deal with the Grizzlies' interior line and protect the penalty area, the Warriors may arrange Looney back to the starting lineup.
It is also possible to arrange for Poole, Curry, and Klay to start at the same time, this lineup was used in the first round of the Nuggets, the offensive firepower is fierce, can force the Grizzlies to change the defensive strategy, at least Adams is afraid to arrange to play, because he will always be pulled out by the Warriors' guards for military training. As for the firepower of the bench, in fact, don't worry too much, the main players may have to play 40 minutes, and the Warriors can always maintain at least one scoring point on the court.
If the Warriors want to win, they must limit Morant, who scored even more in the first 2 games than Curry and Klay combined. Now that Payton is injured, the Warriors could consider activating Anderson to defend Payton, with other teammates assisting.