{"id":108966,"date":"2024-11-25T22:10:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T03:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=108966"},"modified":"2024-11-25T22:23:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T03:23:13","slug":"pelicans-elfrid-payton-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/25\/pelicans-elfrid-payton-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans Have To Make Elfrid Payton Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paytoel01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elfrid Payton<\/a>\u2019s storybook NBA comeback, the New Orleans Pelicans have gone from a team without any viable point guards to one with one too many in short order.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Elfrid Payton tonight:<\/p>\n<p>14 PTS<br \/>\n7 REB<br \/>\n21 AST (career-high)<br \/>\n2 STL<\/p>\n<p>The most assists in a single game this season. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/U9SnO3v6d8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/U9SnO3v6d8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 StatMuse (@statmuse) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/statmuse\/status\/1861233722948817023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dejounte Murray<\/a> will likely reassume his duties as the team\u2019s starting point guard on Wednesday as he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChrisBHaynes\/status\/1861103568314650951\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">returns from his hand injury<\/a>. After posting a double-double with 10 assists in his team debut, Murray may have reminded some fans about his ability to facilitate after spending the past two seasons beside All-Star point guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trae Young<\/a> in the Atlanta Hawks backcourt. With that said, Murray\u2019s role isn\u2019t to just be a playmaker but a scorer, particularly in the clutch. That\u2019s what differentiates him from not just Payton but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alvarjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jose Alvarado<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Dejounte Murray<\/p>\n<p>21 points 10 assists<br \/>\n13 points 10 assists<br \/>\n29 points 10 assists<br \/>\n28 points 12 assists<br \/>\n19 points 15 assists<br \/>\n30 points 7 assists<br \/>\n44 points 7 assists game winner<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the guy the Hawks traded 3 1st round picks for<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z7ROG8Ef4c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/z7ROG8Ef4c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BenStinar\/status\/1773533946724168145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2019s where it gets interesting for the Pelicans. Between Payton \u2014who just set a career and the NBA\u2019s season-high for assists (21) \u2014and Alvarado, who\u2019s more useful to the rotation?<\/p>\n<h2>Pelicans Have To Make Elfrid Payton Decision<\/h2>\n<p>Payton\u2019s impact in New Orleans is simple.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Elfrid Payton dished it out all over the court!<\/p>\n<p>His 21 AST is a new NBA season-high and a new career-high \ud83d\udd25 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RpVFI4TMi7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/RpVFI4TMi7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1861246031087771990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 26, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s a true point guard who pushes the pace and is capable of making all of the passes. On a team such as the Pelicans, whose personnel lends itself to rim runs, transition play, and small-ball, Payton\u2019s passing prowess is particularly important. If New Orleans had more reliable three-point threats, it would be all but imperative for the 30-year-old to be in the rotation moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Payton, he has a glaring weakness at both ends of the court.<\/p>\n<p>On offense, he\u2019s not only a great at dishing dimes but getting to his floater. The problem is that Payton has never been much of a three-point shooter. Teams can survive and work around that, but it\u2019s not their preference. On defense, Payton\u2019s 6-foot-8 wingspan is a useful tool, especially when he\u2019s playing passing lanes. Nonetheless, it doesn\u2019t help him stay in front of his man.<\/p>\n<p>This is why, when he returns from <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/12\/new-orleans-pelicans-jose-alvarado-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">his hamstring injury<\/a>, Alvarado still has to be in the rotation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Jose Alvarado appreciation post<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mdOXvKoDHT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mdOXvKoDHT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheDunkCentral\/status\/1838371462924714135?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Alvarado\u2019s a respectable playmaker, an even better three-point threat, and the cream of the crop defensively. This season, the New York native has averaged 10.7 points and 4.5 assists per game on 40.0 percent shooting from three, all career-highs. An intense on-ball defender with a penchant for pickpocketing his opponents, he\u2019s also averaging a career-high 1.5 steals per game.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s another player who performed so well the Pelicans were forced to embrace him. So, what does New Orleans do?<\/p>\n<h3>What Should The Pelicans Do?<\/h3>\n<p>In a perfect world, the Pelicans would be able to play Murray, Alvarado, and Payton.<\/p>\n<p>At the very least, Murray and Alvarado should be expected to remain in the rotation, not just because of the pre-established pecking order but the franchise\u2019s investment in them. New Orleans traded <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/28\/pelicans-hawks-execute-highly-anticipated-offseason-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">multiple first round picks<\/a> and a player they recently selected in the lottery to acquire Murray. Alvarado signed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/29\/jose-alvarados-extension-eases-pelicans-cap-moves-on-ingram\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a contract extension<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n<p>Payton may be pushing for a rotation spot, but the point guards who are presumably in front of him on the depth chart have a recent body of work that overshadows his. So, if he does want to get regular playing time, the first order of business is remaining consistent. It might be unrealistic to suddenly expect him to become a sharpshooter or defensive stalwart. However, his ability to guard wing players could help him play alongside fellow point guards.<\/p>\n<p>To that point, having Payton on the court shouldn\u2019t just be seen as a way to help the wings and bigs. Murray and Alvarado could also benefit from Payton\u2019s court vision and passing instincts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thanks to Elfrid Payton\u2019s storybook NBA comeback, the New Orleans Pelicans have gone from a team without any viable point guards to one with one too many in short order. Elfrid Payton tonight: 14 PTS 7 REB 21 AST (career-high) 2 STL The most assists in a single game this season. pic.twitter.com\/U9SnO3v6d8 \u2014 StatMuse (@statmuse) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":109052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1608,62,3],"tags":[1262,475,3854],"class_list":["post-108966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pelicans","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-dejounte-murray","tag-elfrid-payton","tag-jose-alvarado"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}