If Steve Kerr and the Warriors have their way over the next week, the best form of revenge against the Memphis Grizzlies will be knocking the No. 2 seed out of the NBA playoffs.
As for any type of retaliation against the Grizzlies or guard Dillon Brooks for his Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 on Gary Payton II in Game 2 on Tuesday night, Kerr made it clear the Warriors have no interest in that.
"You don't go down that path," Kerr told Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto on 95.7 The Game on Wednesday. "You just play. You turn to the next game. You rally the troops. Guys on the bench have to be ready to step up. We'll change some combinations, we'll figure some things out and we'll move forward. That's all you can do. There are no alternatives."
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Kerr and the Warriors were furious during and after their 106-101 loss in the second game of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night at FedExForum after Payton suffered a fractured left elbow and reported "slight" ligament damage when Brooks fouled him in mid-air on a layup attempt.
During an in-game interview, Kerr called Brooks' actions "dirty" and he doubled down on that comment while speaking to reporters after the loss. The Warriors' coach didn't stop there, though, going as far to say the Grizzlies' wing "broke the code" by fouling Payton on his way in for the layup.
Kerr elaborated to Bruce and Ratto on what he meant by Brooks' breaking the code.
"The fact is, everybody sort of knows that, whether it's in the NBA or a pick-up game at your local [YMCA]," Kerr said. "Guy runs in for a layup, you don't undercut him, you don't hit him in the head, you don't knock him down to the point where he doesn't have the ability to control his body because then everything is susceptible to injury. Thankfully, it wasn't worse in terms of a back or leg injury. But anybody who plays basketball understands that code.
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"In the NBA, it is exaggerated because the players are all aware that they are all making their livelihood by playing the game. To me, the code that exists in the NBA, it extends from the same one that exists in pick-up games around the country to an understanding that this is what guys do to take care of their families. And it's unwritten, but it's understood."
RELATED: Curry, Green angered over Brooks' hard foul on Payton
While the Warriors have yet to release an official injury update and timeline for Payton's recovery, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Wednesday that the 29-year-old will miss at least three weeks. A return for the NBA Finals, should the Warriors get that far, is possible for GP2.
The NBA scheduled three off days between Game 2 on Tuesday and Game 3 on Saturday night at Chase Center. That might have been a blessing in disguise considering how physical and contentious the first two games of the series were. Both the Warriors and Grizzlies have time to cool off. No one wants to see another player unnecessarily hurt and it sounds Kerr's team won't engage in tit-for-tat antics.