featured-image

Elfrid Payton makes immediate impact in win column for Pelicans in return

With his minute allotment exhausted in the fourth quarter Monday, New Orleans point guard Elfrid Payton walked to his team’s bench, making sure to congratulate every teammate, coach, trainer and staff member on the sideline. Payton finished with individual statistics of nine points, six assists and a steal, but the only number he was genuinely interested in was the one displayed after the buzzer on the Smoothie King Center scoreboard: Pelicans 123, Timberwolves 114.

In his return to action from a six-week injury absence due to a broken finger, Payton reiterated numerous times Monday that his only goal was to help New Orleans (17-21) post a much-needed victory. It’s something the 24-year-old has done exceptionally well during a hard-luck beginning to his tenure with the Pelicans, who are now 6-1 with Payton in uniform, but just 11-20 when he’s unavailable.

Payton is averaging a modest 9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in seven appearances – granted, those numbers are skewed low because he’s had two outings cut short by injury – but his teammates already believe the Crescent City native’s impact is undeniable. On Monday, Payton helped the Pelicans win the first quarter 27-22, just the second time in the last 10 games that New Orleans was ahead after the initial 12 minutes.

“Amazing,” forward Julius Randle (33 points, four shy of his career high) said of Payton returning. “He pushes the pace, gets into the ball on defense, just plays with that aggressiveness that we need. It was really good.”

“It helps a lot, especially with the depth,” said forward Darius Miller, who equaled a career high by scoring 21 points. “He’s a great floor general, he gets guys in (the right) places. Him being back is going to help a ton.”

New Orleans was playing without five-time All-Star Anthony Davis (illness) on Monday, but posted its first victory over Minnesota in the last six meetings due to a balanced offensive attack. With Payton back at the controls of the offense for 24 minutes, Jrue Holiday returned to his more comfortable role, playing off the ball and attacking the Timberwolves’ defense from more optimum areas of the floor. Holiday dropped in 26 points and went 2/3 from three-point range, part of NOLA’s second-best shooting performance from the arc this season (14/25, 56.0 percent).

“The way he gets into the paint and attracts defenders, I pretty much just have to stay in his vision,” said Holiday, who was set up perfectly by Payton on two open jumpers. “To be able to do that, run in front of him, EP is pushing the pace. We ran more than normal today. It was good to have him back.”

At shootaround Monday morning, Payton spoke about his excitement to help New Orleans return to the intriguing potential it displayed during a 4-0 start to the regular season. The Pelicans are undefeated when both Payton and Davis play and have performed extremely well offensively in each of Payton’s five games of logging 20-plus minutes, scoring 131, 149, 116, 117 and 123 points. Asked postgame whether he was pleased with what the Pelicans showed Monday in his first game since Nov. 16, Payton was partly content, but wanted to see more.

“First half, for sure,” Payton said of NOLA building a 63-51 lead. “I’m happy we got the win, but we kind of slowed down a little bit in that third quarter, for whatever reason, and I take part of the blame for that. But I was excited for what it looked like in that first half. I think our pace was good; we just have to sustain it now. One of the toughest things to do in this league is win and be consistent. It’s definitely something we need to work on.”

The Pelicans also must get to work on drastically improving their effectiveness on the road, where they’re just 4-15 this season. However, Payton has not played in an away game since the Oct. 17 season opener in Houston, a blowout Pelicans victory in which he logged a triple-double. Regardless of his individual stat line, Payton’s focus will remain the same as what he described moments after beating the Timberwolves.

“Get a win,” said Payton, who’s trying to reach the NBA playoffs for the first time in his pro career. “Do as much to help as possible. Try to bring intensity on defense. Most importantly, find a way to win.”