Gary Payton II had one of the best games of his career on Monday night. Not only did he grab his career-high 26 points, but he was also a key piece on the defensive end during the Golden State Warriors' 130-120 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Payton's career high was just the cherry on top of what has been a great few weeks on offense for him. Although some people were calling for the Warriors coaching staff to bench GPII, it now looks almost impossible to leave him out of the rotation mix.
The Warriors won't be able to bench Gary Payton II
GPII dominated Monday's game with 26 points in only 28 minutes. He was 11-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point land, with all four triples coming as part of a 16-point first-half that helped the Warriors to a 67-49 advantage.
Payton also added a block and steal to his stat sheet, but it's the four threes that really put him into a different stratosphere on Monday. Payton hadn’t even attempted four threes in a game this season, and hadn’t made more than two in a game either.
When GPII is contributing at all on the offensive end, it feels like found money. Payton is only averaging 6.2 points per game and is shooting a measly 28.4% from three. That is what made Monday’s performance so special, with Payton seeming to have found something on the offensive end of late despite his overall season averages.
In Payton's last ten games, he is now averaging 10.8 points on 63.9% shooting from the floor and 45.9% from beyond the arc. On top of that, when Payton is given extra minutes, his scoring is even better. In the last four games where he's played over 20 minutes, Payton has scored at least 15 points in three of them. When Payton scores in double-digits, the Warriors are near impossible to beat.
Even though Payton has definitely lost a step on defense, he is still elite on that end of the floor. When his offense was nowhere to be found, however, it was becoming harder and harder to justify his playing time. Now that he seems to have turned things around on offense, he simply can’t be kept out of the lineup.
The veteran guard seems to be thriving in the Warriors' rejuvenated offense with Jimmy Butler. His ability to make key cuts and passes is not only benefitting him, but others in the Dubs offense as well. If Payton can keep things up on both ends of the floor, it will leave significant rotation headaches for Steve Kerr as Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga each prepare to return from injury possibly later this week.