Gary Payton II had plenty of defensive role models growing up, starting with his Hall of Fame father, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. That helped him develop a mindset that he has carried with him to all his NBA stops, including the Warriors, where he has carved out a role as a disruptive presence off the bench.
Playing on a partially guaranteed contract, Payton has been an important contributor to Golden State’s 15-2 start. He brings a brashness to his defensive approach, along with a willingness to take on the opponent’s best scorer, priding himself in playing the old-school defense he watched as a child.
“The league already made it where guys don’t like to be touched,” he said. “So I’m just gon’ touch ’em. It’s that simple. As you can see … a lot of guys don’t like to be touched. Nobody touches them. Nobody’s in their face. They let them do what they want to do. I’m not about to let you sit here and size me up. No. I’m not about to let you do that. You gon’ go one way. If not, you gon’ get up off that ball. And it’s gon’ be hard for you to get it back. By the time you get it back, you gon’ be tired and you gon’ settle. Let’s go.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Whenever James Wiseman returns from meniscus surgery, Golden State will have one of the best center rotations in the league, contends Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The position is currently being held down by Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and Nemanja Bjelica, and the addition of Wiseman will give the group a little of everything. “He brings a whole different look to our team from a size standpoint and from a vertical standpoint,” Looney said of Wiseman. “He’s able to score at a high level down in the post. He’s a natural scorer. So, he’ll give a different look with his athleticism, being able to block shots and play above the rim. I’m excited to see him get out there. We play two different styles.”
- It’s easy for Looney to get overlooked with all the talent the Warriors have, but he has figured out how to complement his more famous teammates, observes Nekias Duncan of Basketball News.
- Klay Thompson has been impressed with the progress of third-year guard Jordan Poole, who is currently filling his spot in the starting lineup, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “He’s playing way above where he was picked at 26,” Thompson said. “He’s looking like he should have been a lotto pick.”
Can’t wait to hear what shortbus has to say about this.
Wiggins has to go. Second quarter, has the mismatch on offense, (a guard in the post area, maybe curry) dribbles around, has it stolen.. then on the other end his guy (Curry) scores on a layup. So bogus.
I just can’t watch him anymore.
He had amazing 2nd half! He’s developing and improving, and has learned to bounce back later in the game, and not waste away a whole game.
Get over it. Wiggins ain’t getting traded. You have to stop watching the Warriors. They are winning despite your nutty little infatuation. If it is working, why are you complaining.
Giants74, Sounds like you are happy with the regular season and wins verses teams down four guys.. I’m looking forward to important playoff games.
Andre Iguodala can’t play the entire fourth quarter at the small forward spot so the Warriors need another guy there. I’m sorry you’re not seeing the Andrew Wiggins I’m seeing. Just giving my opinion.
Wiggins played great defense on maxey in the second half. Wiggins shot horrible in the first half but his shot was back in the second half. No need to destroy the chemistry now.
Yes true arc, that was cool to see. Good coaching move by Kerr to put 6-6 guy on the point guard and slow him down a little. Nice job by both Kerr and Wiggins.
Not alone! Good eye testing and/or stat usage… Wiggins drafted #1 in 2014, ranks #27 in BPM & #23 in VORP in that class… maxxed of course. This year his PER is above average… he may be improving.
Wiggins was +25 tonight.
+25 That’s true but even Andrew Wiggins admits that is because he playing next to Steph Curry. Wiggins does many good things but just not enough to be a Championship starting small forward. He’s just not good enough and I would love the Warriors to upgrade. Obviously I’m alone with that opinion and that’s okay. Not everyone has to agree and that’s why we have a comment forum.
Opponent FG%
Stephen Curry 42.2%
Wiggins 42.7%
Lowry 42.8%
Draymond 43.7%
Tatum 44%
Beak 44%
Rudy Gobert 44.6%
George 44.6%
Chris Paul 44.8%
The Lower the better
Is there a point to your post?
I suppose the point he’s trying to make is Steph is an underrated defender.
And the same for Wiggins since he’s the #2 guy on the list he compiled.
Also, GSW having 3 of the top 5 in the category is noteworthy.
I love it when Poole is not so eager to score every touch and makes a great assist! It was awesome to see both Poole and JTA joining Curry and Green with Assist Show!
Hopefully Warriors can afford to bring back Looney. He certainly deserves a raise and he’s only 25. It would just be great to see him extend his career with the Warriors.
They kept him at a steal last time, so who knows? He does have the injury history, so maybe that plays into it
Remember when I came on here talking up Gary Payton II and got blasted for it…how he isnt enough of an offensive player, or how do you know he can defend the way you say? GS has put together the versatile roster they previously had, and in some ways, with added stuff in there. Combine that with Steve Kerr using his roster the way it was supposed to be used, and they are where they are. That was the 1 thing hanging in the balance for me going into the preseason, besides potential health, where I thought they would be 2nd in the West, but potentially fighting for that 1-6 spots, and Steve Kerr has done exactly what he was supposed to do with his rotations.
It can be tough celebrating Kerr too.
I am not in favor of “one of the best center rotations” comment though. Only one or two can be put on the court at a time. (Two if Dray plays forward… but if he plays center then he’s not at forward, so including him is misleading.) All have strengths but all have weaknesses too… calling them a rotation does not mean they can be combined!
PS great speechlet by Payton… the power of touching! Next step, flip their nose points.
I think there they’re referring to a rotation in the sense they go to different guys in different lineups against certain matchups. Bjelica as a floor spacing, playmaking big, Looney as a pick and roll defender that can post defend against certain size guys, and rim protect a bit, Draymond obviously as a pick and roll defending, rim protecting, really do it all big, playmaker, finisher, can sometimes space the floor with his shooting, and then Wiseman will be used as a bigger post defense guy, and potential paint scorer in certain matchups when necessary
Agree but I’d also like to see Wiseman back on the floor first. In theory he could be a great piece. Haven’t seen it in action yet
Good post on Gary Payton. You are absolutely correct. He is providing that extra something that meshes perfect on the Warriors. It’s one of those perfect fits.
Put him on another team and he would never see the floor because of his offensive inefficiencies. But on the Warriors his tenacity on defense and athleticism is the perfect fifth guy out there to lock down the other team’s best player. Works perfect. Good call.
$100 says Thibs would run this man 35-40 minutes a game!! lol
Make it a thousand because Payton was a free agent for anyone to pick up when the Warriors cut him in training camp.
Then he is a minimum salary player so the cost is nothing and Thibodeaux and the Knicks did not jump on it… so let me know when you’ll pay up.
And wasn’t he a free agent a lot of last season until the Warriors signed him late? Thibodeau was coach of the Knicks last season also right? How about the year before?
Basically I really don’t understand how you can make your comment. There’s no basis whatsoever in any fact or truth or logic. What you say may sound good in theory because the Tom Thibodeau likes defensive guys but the Knicks roster doesn’t have enough scoring to absorb an effort, hustle, gritty defensive stud like Gary Payton.
Thibodeau doesn’t have final say with personnel decisions in New York.
hopper, he has a lot more say than you think.
More like he has less than you think.
Ok, good call. You’re probably right.
GP2 has exceeded everyone’s expectations including Kerr, Myer, and his teammates. Let’s not forget that he was waived before the season to save few dollars. He is now playing like 7-8th player in the rotation, and not 15th. His emergence has given the team a major boost to start the yr and the positivity has been contagious. This is what sports is all about and it’s wondeful to see GP2 get his major break at 28.
Once the Sixers trade Simmons and get their other players back they should be a force in the east. Their bench is very good. That is what makes the Warriors so good is their bench is solid enough where if one player is having a off shooting night somebody else will pick them up.
So last year Kerr was the worst thing EVER.
Now this year. Kerr is the Best thing EVER.
True Warrior fans. I’m sure it would be Just Freakin Awesome if every year it was a 18 gm season. OMG how good are we.
We’ll ALL be back here in May. To see the real fans.
On that note I noticed how all the Laker bandwagon fans jumped ship. The team is as deep as it was during championship run is why they will be here in May unlike the last 2 years with a bad bench.
No you didn’t , you just made that up Arc
Most Laker talk get’s done in here by non fans and brought up by folks like yourself…time after time after time after time
Seems to be a weird obsession quite a few of you hold in here. Nobodies jumped ship, you have no names or examples to support this just talking from your backside per usual, enjoy your turkey and maybe take the opportunity to talk about your Warriors in your own GSW thread ya know?
No one gets crowned in December…….
Getting back Wiseman, Kuminga, Klay into rotation. Gotta say, makes this team very legit. That’s what I want to see most.
Warriors are once again a legit contender and that’s all we can hope for as fans.
Knicks fans were asking KD if he should have signed with the Knicks after 1 game this year. I think he is happier in BRK than that .500 team.
Really …. U a part time espner .
We are building a team. Not worried about anything else. Who cares what KD does. He’s signed elsewhere. You can actually look that up.
Did Gary Payton 2 go to college or high school?
He spent two years at Oregon State.
He skipped High School.
He went to Catholoc school DUH!!! Where do you think he learned about all that touching from??