Golden State Warriors: Gary Payton II just keeps getting better

Gary Payton II might be the biggest surprise in the league. He can do no wrong for the Golden State Warriors and they win each of his minutes with ease.

While all of the attention was on Klay Thompson, naturally so, it was GP2 who hit the floor and made an instant impact. He checked into the game and immediately deflected a pass out of bounds, introducing himself to a Cleveland Cavaliers team who would get to know him very well.

Is Gary Payton II ever going to stop? It doesn’t seem like it. And, the Golden State Warriors are hoping their secret weapon keeps showing up as he has been all year.

What ensued versus Cleveland was 19 minutes and 29 seconds of GP2 wreaking havoc. He was everywhere, batting rebounds to his teammates, swarming passing lanes and roughing up Darius Garland.

The NBA has grown familiar with Payton’s defensive prowess already. He recorded 2 steals and 6 rebounds to go long with numerous Cavs’ possessions that he brought to a screeching halt.

However, as good as he has been defensively (and he has been good), Payton is starting to become even more impressive on offense.

Payton is incredibly efficient

It took six minutes on Sunday for Payton to score all of his points. In a quick second-quarter stint, Payton dashed to the hoop on fastbreaks and backdoor cuts to punish Cleveland for losing focus. Then, he added a 3-pointer for good measure.

This mini burst of potent offense is what the Warriors have come to expect from Payton. He’s scoring 7.9 points per game on 64.6 percent shooting — which would be good for the 23rd highest single-season field goal percentage ever.

Payton has only attempted 192 total field goals and the minimum to be included on Basketball Reference’s list is 300. Assuming he keeps it up, he’d finish with the most efficient shooting season a point guard has ever had.

His timely cuts to the hoop and quickness in transition have allowed him to shoot almost exclusively at the rim, where his explosive vertical leap keeps him playing above expectations.

GP2 is also shooting above 40 percent from the 3-point line. He’s 28-for-67 on the season and always seems to make opponents pay for leaving him too open.

Obviously, Payton’s lack of volume is going to hold him back from being praised too highly for his efficiency.

Yet, Payton and the Dubs’ couldn’t care less. So long as he enters each game with bone-crunching defense and smart shot selection, Payton will succeed for the Warriors.