SAN FRANCISCO — Before Thursday night's opener of the NBA Finals, the Warriors announced that Gary Payton II (fractured left elbow), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot soreness) and Andre Iguodala (neck) would all be available to return to action.
While Porter played 24 minutes and Iguodala logged 12, Payton was conspicuously absent from the eight-man rotation. The shutdown defender stayed on the bench with his left elbow wrapped for the whole game and said it was tough to not get the opportunity to play in the Finals, especially after losing a month of playoff basketball.
"Frustrating. It's frustrating," Payton told reporters Saturday. "But I think coach is going to call me when it's the right time. I'm just going to try to be ready for him and my teammates and go out there and try to make a difference."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the right situation didn't present itself to Payton and the Warriors in Game 1. He also didn't want to rush Payton's recovery.
"The other night, I would have put him in in special circumstances," Kerr said. "Maybe a late-game stop. I didn't feel comfortable playing him significant minutes yet. I thought and the training staff felt like he needed a little more time. I anticipate that he will be available for more than that tomorrow because the last couple of days have gone pretty well and he's feeling better."
It sounds like Payton could get back to the floor in Game 2, which should result in a standing ovation from the Chase Center crowd on Sunday night. Payton hasn't played since Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies, when he was fouled hard by Dillon Brooks on a play that Kerr termed as "dirty." His season looked to be in jeopardy, so the first time he runs to the scorer's table should be viewed as an accomplishment in itself.
"Hopefully play 48 minutes," Payton said of his Game 2 goals. "I'm available, ready to go. Just waiting on the call. … I try to tell him I'm ready every day. Hopefully it sinks in sooner or later."
Payton said he won't be wearing any brace on his arm, and he was spotted shooting a 3-pointer during Saturday's practice without any obvious limitations.
"Same as it always was," Payton said of his shot. "Just been soreness and stuff the last week. Like I said, we've got a couple more games so I'll figure it out, but I'm ready to go."
Warriors star Steph Curry said the team would love to have Payton hounding the Celtics perimeter stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. Payton might be undersized at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds but he's shown he can punch above his weight class. GP2 would also be effective on other bench players like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams.
"He's just a defensive menace in terms of being able to guard a lot of different positions," Curry said. "He gets into the ball. He makes people uncomfortable. He can disrupt a lot of different actions and different situations out there. He even has a knack on the offensive end, just being in the right place at the right time, and gives us great energy."
