Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in disbelief that Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks dared to accuse Draymond Green of being a “dirty player.”
“Dillon said that?” Kerr asked, bewildered.
“Interesting,” he followed up with a meaningful smile.
Warriors starting wing Moses Moody also fired back at Brooks.
“It’s a little ironic, isn’t it?” Moody snapped back, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
Moses Moody had to chuckle under his breath when asked if he has any reaction to Dillon Brooks calling Draymond Green a dirty player. Moody: “It’s a little ironic isn’t it?”
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) April 25, 2025
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Brooks and Green have a long-standing beef dating back to when the former was still with the Memphis Grizzlies.
They are both chirpy and play with emotions.
Their animosity turned another leaf in Game 2 when Green was involved in the play, which led to Jimmy Butler crashing hard to the floor on his back.
Brooks took the opportunity to take a shot at his nemesis while defending his Rockets teammate Amen Thompson for undercutting Butler in the controversial play.
“No, I think the dirty player is Draymond, giving [Amen] a little push,” Brooks told reporters following Friday’s practice. “Jimmy was fighting there for a rebound, and stuff happens. Amen is not a dirty player. He has nothing to do with being a dirty player. We’re not worried about that. We’re on to the next game and we hope Jimmy can get better.”
There’s been a narrative floating around that Amen Thompson is a dirty player following the play that resulted in Jimmy Butler’s injury.
Asked Dillon Brooks about it:
“I think the dirty player is Draymond giving him a little push… We hope Jimmy can get better.” pic.twitter.com/8JlkMX5vch
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) April 25, 2025
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Shortly after that controversial play late in the first quarter, Brooks and Green got into it in the second quarter, pushing and shoving each other.
Steve Kerr Clears Amen Thompson
Butler awkwardly landed hard on his back in a scary fall with 1:51 left in the first quarter after Thompson collided with him underneath the basket.
Thompson immediately drew the ire from the Warriors fans on social media, labeling him a “dirty player.”
However, Golden State coach Steve Kerr doesn’t believe it was the case.
“I haven’t seen the replay,” Kerr told reporters when asked what he thought of Thompson colliding with Butler. “I asked our guys behind the bench, and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound, and I think Thompson just inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug-of-war that was going on there. So we didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play.”
Butler’s status for Game 3 is questionable but he avoided any longterm injury after his X-ray and MRI results came back negative.
‘There’s a Chance’ Warriors Star Plays in Game 3
While Butler’s status is questionable, Kerr believes his star forward will do everything in his power to be available for the pivotal Game 3 at home.
“I’m relatively optimistic,” Kerr told reporters. “I mean, Jimmy is Jimmy. We know he’s willing to play through anything, so we’ll see. I mean, this is a day-to-day thing for sure, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but I think there’s a chance he plays.”
Kerr’s optimism is shared by Dr. Nirav Pandya, a professor at the Orthopedic Surgery department of the University of California, San Francisco and director of sports medicine at Benioff Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Pandya said Butler’s injury typically costs a player to sit out an average of one game. But in Butler’s case, it’s different.
“Now a lot of that data is from the regular season, where there may not necessarily be that big push to have to come back early,” Dr. Pandya said on a video breakdown of Butler’s injury he posted on X. “Obviously, if this happens at playoffs, and pain management can be basically achieved with Jimmy Butler, there could be a chance he could potentially be back for Game 3 or Game 4, based on how his body responds.”
