About a month. It took Gary Payton II to recover from his elbow fracture in Game 2 of the series against Memphis. Available again since the start of the Finals, however, the defender did not see the field in Game 1, witnessing the Warriors’ defeat on their floor to the Celtics (108-120).
What about tonight? Steve Kerr first explained his choice on Game 1 because of the course of the game, adding that Gary Payton II was not yet ready to take on a big game time. His position could change for Game 2.
“I think he will be more available because the last two days have been pretty good and he feels better.”Steve Kerr explained at his press conference on the eve of the match.
The return of Gary Payton II may be part of Steve Kerr’s levers to try to better control the second game at home to Golden State. For his part, the player feels ready to return to help his team. He is just waiting for a sign from his coach.
“I’m available, ready to play, I’m just waiting for someone to call me”, he said before mentioning his rehabilitation. “I feel like I’ve always felt. I’ve just had some pain in the last few weeks. But like I said, we still have a few games left, so I’m going to come up with a solution. I’m ready to go back. “
| Gary Payton II | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shoot | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | All | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | ONE THOUSAND | 6 | 17 | 36.4 | 11.1 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| 2017-18 * | All Teams | 23 | 10 | 40.5 | 24.0 | 33.3 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| 2017-18 * | ONE THOUSAND | 12 | 9 | 39.4 | 16.7 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| 2017-18 * | LAL | 11 | 11 | 41.5 | 30.8 | 16.7 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.6 |
| 2018-19 | WAS | 3 | 5 | 62.5 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.7 |
| 2019-20 | WAS | 29 | 15 | 41.4 | 28.3 | 50.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 3.9 |
| 2020-21 | GOS | 10 | 4 | 76.9 | 50.0 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 71 | 18 | 61.6 | 35.8 | 60.3 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 7.1 |
| Total | 142 | 15 | 54.2 | 32.0 | 57.1 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 5.2 | |