Payton scores 11 in return to rotation
Gary Payton II is back. Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, speaking Saturday at Chase Center before a game against the Phoenix Suns, announced that the 31-year-old Payton was ending his 16-game absence with a return to the rotation.
The guard won’t be on a minutes restriction, Kerr said — touting the comfort he has with Payton slotting seamlessly into a variety of Golden State’s lineups.
“We’ll have him in certain combinations,” Kerr noted, “but we absolutely want him to do what he does — which is to generate steals, deflections, dive to the rim, finish around the basket.”
Payton played 14 minutes in Saturday’s 113-112 victory, scoring 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting, with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
Payton missed the previous 16 games with a strained left hamstring; Saturday’s game was his 17th played among the team’s 50. He’s a premier defender at the point of attack, bothering smaller and bigger perimeter players despite giving away length to taller players on the wing.
Offensively he’s at his best working off the ball, armed with the selfawareness that he isn’t a shooter — converting 28.1% of his shots from 3point range.
Kerr briefly noted the improvement in Golden State’s defense — fifth in the NBA in defensive rating (112.2 points per 100 possessions) since Draymond Green returned Jan. 15 to the lineup — and how Payton’s strengths match the way the Warriors are recently playing.
“We’ve been playing with a little more athleticism, a little bit more pop, and he fits right into that,” Kerr said.
Point guard Chris Paul remains on the injury report for Golden State, missing his 15th straight game Saturday as he works his way back from a broken left hand.
He joined the Warriors for their recent five-game trip and worked out individually, awaiting another official update Tuesday.