After wandering between the development league, non-guaranteed contracts, and Puerto Rico, Elfrid Payton returned to New Orleans, which is suffering from a severe injury crisis • In his third NBA game since his comeback, he outshone all stars with 21 assists.
One of the well-known clichés in the orange ball industry is that “in basketball, there is no vacuum.” If a certain player is missing, his replacement will manage to fill the void and almost make you forget his absence. This season’s New Orleans Pelicans show that this cliché is both true and false simultaneously.
Almost every senior player in the Pelicans’ roster has suffered an injury since the start of the season, consequently ranking the team last in the West with a 4-14 record. However, those who were called up to fill in for these injured players are recording decent achievements on the court, even if they’re just personal achievements.
Due to the injury crisis in the backcourt, the Pelicans signed Elfrid Payton last week. The 30-year-old point guard played many years in the NBA, but his last time being signed to a league team was in the 2021/22 season with Phoenix. Since then, for over 900 days, he wandered between the development league and Puerto Rico. This summer, New Orleans added him on a non-guaranteed contract for training camp, after which he was released. Last week, due to the injury crisis, he was called up and signed with the Pelicans, where he had already played in the 2018/19 season.
Payton was thrown into the deep end and into the starting lineup, and tonight (between Monday and Tuesday) in a 114-110 loss, he showed he absolutely belongs in the NBA. The point guard dished out 21 assists, which is not only a career-high but also a season-high across the entire NBA. Only one player in Pelicans history has delivered more assists in a single game, and that was Rajon Rondo with 25 assists in 2017. Along with the 21 assists, he added 14 points, 7 rebounds, and two steals.
With averages approaching a double-double in three games, coach Willie Green will finally have a positive headache soon, at least in the point guard position. Starting guard Dejounte Murray is returning from injury this week, and José Alvarado will return later, both expected to cut into Payton’s minutes. While the backup point guard may be lacking in three-point shooting, he proved he has something to contribute.