Gary Payton II, son of Hall of Fame defensive specialist Gary Payton, is proving his worth with the Wizards and could earn a concrete deal with the team this season, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes.
Payton, 27, was signed by the injury-riddled Wizards using the team’s hardship exception and thrust into the rotation on short notice. He’s shown efficient production offensively and pesky effort defensively, averaging 11.7 points, four assists and 4.3 steals in three games.
“What makes him so good, I think it’s pretty simple: He’s been cut a few times. When you’re cut a few times, you’re hungry. You’re desperate,” coach Scott Brooks said of Payton. “He plays for the right reasons … I know he’s going to get a good chance to make it here because of his effort and his intensity and his hunger and his desire and his competition and his competitive spirit to compete every possession. That’s what we’re trying to build our program by.”
Payton has held brief stints with the Bucks (18 games) and Lakers (11 games) during his career, also appearing in three contests with the Wizards last season on a 10-day contract. His motivation stems from bouncing around the NBA G League on four teams since going undrafted in 2016.
“I’ve been hungry ever since I got here [in Washington],” Payton said. “In and out of the G League, trying to find somewhere to stick. I think these guys here appreciate what I do and value what I do, so I go to bat for them every day. Just taking advantage of this opportunity.”
There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is living up to his “Minister of Defense” nickname with the team this season, John Denton of NBA.com writes. Isaac, an athletic 6-foot-11 combo forward, is in his third professional season. He’s averaged 12.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in 30 contests on the year. “I think it’s taken for granted, but defense is 50 percent of the game,’’ Isaac said. “There are schemes and all types of things that go into defense. The same way that you want to get comfortable on offense and learn how the NBA game works, you want to do the same on defense.”
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times examines the impact of Lauri Markkanen, along with how the Bulls’ overall play changes depending on his level of production. Chicago has accrued just a 13-20 record on the season, but the team is 5-5 in its last 10 contests. “Obviously I can do a better rebounding and pushing the ball, but yeah, I’m more comfortable,’’ Markkanen said. “ I kind of know where I’m going to get my touches and shots. I think everybody is figuring out their role and doing a good job of it. Knowing when to attack, and in our system knowing where the open guy is going to be. That obviously helps when you play the same guys.’’
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens is considering lineup changes to help improve the team’s defense, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes. The Celtics have a 22-8 record on the season and dropped a 113-97 home game to Toronto on Saturday. “We’ve got to get back to being a better defensive team,” Stevens said. “And we’ve got to find … we’ve got to find the right mix of guys that will defend well together and that complement our best players to defend well. And just get back to that.”