It’s inevitable that New Orleans starting point guard Elfrid Payton will hear plenty of comparisons this season to the man he replaced, Rajon Rondo. But after an outstanding performance Wednesday in his official New Orleans debut, a teammate’s comment brought to mind a different point guard known for his versatility, Russell Westbrook.
“There’s no reason (Payton) can’t average a triple-double this year,” New Orleans five-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis said, following an eye-opening 131-112 road win at Houston. “He’s a big guard. He can rebound, defend, get in the paint, score, finish, and then he can pass.”
Payton displayed all of those skills against the Rockets, finishing with his 11th career triple-double by notching 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Afterward, however, the Crescent City native was much more pleased with the victory than any individual accomplishment. When Davis’ prediction was relayed to Payton, the 24-year-old downplayed the idea, saying, “I don’t know, man. That would be great, but as long as we’re winning, that’s all that really matters.”
A triple-double from their point guard and a combined 87 points by the big-man trio of Davis, Nikola Mirotic and Julius Randle sparked the Pelicans to arguably the most impressive win from the first two days of the NBA schedule. Payton helped set an aggressive tone early by repeatedly getting into the teeth of Houston’s defense, dishing to open shooters or calling his own number and driving to the basket. The 6-foot-4, fifth-year pro capitalized on one freeway to the hoop by dribbling all the way to the rim and throwing down a two-hand dunk.
On the other end, Payton and fellow backcourt starter Jrue Holiday helped limit reigning league MVP James Harden and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul to poor offensive nights, holding both under 20 points.
“He did a little bit of everything,” Mirotic said of Payton. “He really set a tone, especially defensively. Offensively, he was capable of reading the defense and finding the right guy in position. Triple-double, I mean, it’s huge. We’re just blessed to have him here. I think this is going to give him a lot of confidence. He’s just adjusting very fast (to a new team). I’m sure he’s going to be a huge piece for us this season.”
“Great job,” Davis assessed of Payton. “Pushed the pace, got the ball up the floor, was aggressive on both ends. Triple-double in his first game with a new team – that’s pretty impressive to me.”
Even more encouraging to the Pelicans is that Payton is still getting comfortable with his new team and offense. Alvin Gentry pointed out Wednesday that Payton can still be more aggressive in terms of attacking when New Orleans is in transition, without feeling pressure to always get the Pelicans into a structured offensive, halfcourt set.
“It’s still a learning process for him,” Gentry said. “I’ve got to send him to the Rondo School, where he understands ‘I can do anything I want, as long as I’m pushing the basketball, but then if it doesn’t work, we can run a play.’ ”
Still, Payton and the Pelicans passed their first test of the regular season with flying colors. It was the type of performance Gentry believes is repeatable by his new floor general.
“It doesn’t really surprise me,” Gentry said of Payton, who became only the 22nd player in NBA history to author a triple-double in a debut with a team. “I think he’s going to be a guy who comes close to that, night in and night out, because he’s a really good rebounder, he’s very much a willing passer, and you can see that he can really get the ball to the basket and make good decisions when he gets it there.”