All jokes aside, my original intent today was to write an article entitled "Gary Payton Jr. - My Favorite Player in the NBA". But since he got injured last night I can't put it like that anymore, because he's no longer active, and, when he does return, like who knows if he'll come back the same.
Earlier, during the 2022 edition of the NBA Inception Awards, I actually advocated "the Gauntlet", as I like to call him, for DPOY. Most people would rather advocate Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart obviously or perhaps Payton's teammate, Draymond "the Golden Spaz" Green. But the thing I really admire is how effective the Gauntlet is in the post, both offensively and especially defensively, considering his size.
But something else I had to acknowledge while continually biggin' Payton's defense up is the fact that sometimes he relies on... questionable tactics. When you do those sort of things, of course you're going to occasionally run into other players and teams that decide to retaliate.
I also knew that in this series, he would logically to be the player the Warriors would have to rely on most to effectively defend Ja Morant. And I'll give it to Steve Kerr - he did go as far as actually starting the Gauntlet in Games 1 and 2. And no one can lock Morant down, who I've already hinted somewhere in this blog may be the next Jordan. But that strategy did work in Game 1, in that at least the Dubs won.
And Dillon Brooks is one big dude. Brooks is so top-heavy, or at least he looks that way on TV, that the first couple of times of I saw him play I actually thought he was a stocky G, until I looked dude up and found he's really like 6'7" . But like the Gauntlet is also pretty big up top, definitely being the dieselest player on the Warriors.
So now, it's like I finally got around to seeing that play. Dillon basically slapped Gary in the head (with his forearm) just as Payton sorta did to some player a while back, though I can't remember who exactly. And it does look like Brooks meant to hit him like that, but he obviously didn't expect to cause any type of injury. Pain and discomfort? Yes. But injury? I'm not so sure.
Either way, what ended up happening was sort of a fluke injury, kinda like what Alex Caruso suffered a while back. But I guess that's one of the reasons why you aren't supposed to make malicious plays, especially when the target is up in the air.
The reason Payton has grown on me is because at the beginning of the season, he deadass struggled to to make the Warriors' roster. And even when he did, it looked like he'd be one of those players who'd be lucky to see playing time, despite being the son of an alltime great.
But instead, he ended up being an indispensable part of Golden State's 2021-22 rotation. And it's kinda ironic that the Warriors , in reality, are kinda thin as far as guard depth goes. And I'd like to use this opportunity to say that instead of going back to the Cavs, I hope Rubio signs with the Dubs next season. He'd be like the perfect fit with all of their wings and cutting guards.
Another thing is that Payton Jr. always has an impact on the court. Always. Sometimes it's good to be a player who can't really score, because you can learn to shoot and shit like that as time progresses. What's more difficult to master is defense and intangibles. But a lot of that comes to the Gauntlet naturally or like from his upbringing, since he's the son of the Glove.
But what I adore best about Payton Jr. is how he plays downlow. Offensively, he creeps around the rim to grab rebounds or perform easy layups. And defensively dude, as short as he is, can like effectively play against centers. Payton's stats aren't going to knock you out. But anyone who understands the game of basketball would, I think, recognize that he has the type of defensive presence that, as far as the Warriors go, is only really comparable to Draymond Green.
And there's really nothing more athletic in the NBA than a small guy making powerful dunks. That something that Payton rather gets from his mom, Monique James. The Gauntlet was doing that a lot earlier in the season, kinda how he caught Desmond Bane out there in Game 1. And he can do it a thousand times, but like dude is so short you still wouldn't see it coming. "Luckily", Payton's elbow got injured and not any part of his leg.
CONCLUSION
Damian Lee got some quality though brief minutes in Game 2, which I guess is Steve Kerr's partial answer to filling the hole left by Payton's injury. And that's a pretty good decision, as Lee is just as feisty as the Grizzlies, perhaps being overzealous even.
And now with the injury, I can't say that the Gauntlet is my favorite player in the NBA. But what I can say, at least for me, is that now the Playoffs are less exciting without him.
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