Tom Thibodeau gave his struggling point guard Elfrid Payton another vote of confidence earlier this week as questions surrounding Payton’s role as the regular starter grow louder.
With the playoffs just days away, many have asked if Thibodeau would shake up his backcourt rotation after Payton has labored through a stretch of totaling more turnovers than made free throws and field goals combined over his last five games. But Thibodeau reaffirmed his confidence in Payton, and on Thursday, Payton expressed confidence in himself that he can help New York win its first playoff series in eight years.
“I’m confident,” Payton said. “I’m working on my game, so I’m confident.”
Payton’s minutes have steadily declined of late, playing less than 15 minutes in each of his last four games. He has hit just three of his last 18 field goal attempts, and over his last 12 games, has averaged 1.3 turnovers compared to just 2.0 field goals made. But the Knicks have gone 8-4 in that span and clinched home court advantage, which is enough for Payton when looking at his level of play of late.
“I assess my play by how my team is doing, and we’ve been winning,” Payton said. “And we’re in the playoffs.”
As Payton’s numbers have continued to slide, the Knicks continue to have his back, even if his production has been eclipsed by other backcourt options such as Derrick Rose, Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley. But all signs point to Payton being on the floor for the opening tip of the Knicks’ first playoff game since 2013, and his fellow starters seem just fine with that outcome.
“He’s a great locker room guy,” RJ Barrett said. “Everybody loves EP. He goes out there and even if he’s struggling offensively, he plays really good defense. That’s kind of like anybody else. Everyone struggles sometimes. We’re always there to pick him up and he’s there to pick us up. He picks me up when I’m struggling. He’s part of our team and we love having EP.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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