Orlando Magic Starting Five Breakdown: Elfrid Payton
By Luke Duffy
The Reality
This may not be the year Payton makes a big jump, for a number of reasons. He did well last year for sure, but the reality is it may be more of the same here. Again that’s alright, he’s only 21 years old. You would still expect the assist numbers to improve even a little, although you could stick a question mark beside everything else. The shooting touch, for example, may never come, much the way it never truly has for Rajon Rondo.
So expecting a sudden surge in three-point shooting would be foolish, although getting to the line more doesn’t seem like too much to ask. There is another interesting quirk here which may also hinder Payton’s progress, and that is the addition of Shabazz Napier to this team. Now, Payton still figures to start here no question.
But it’s also true to say that Napier is the more complete offensive player (36% three-point shooter last season) of the two at this stage in their careers. In close games where offensive firepower is needed to get the team over the line, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Napier out on the court. That is not to say Payton will be canned come crunch time, but he may not be out there as much as people think. That could damage his confidence and growth and is worth keeping an eye on.
Next: Not All Of The Numbers Make For Nice Reading