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GP2, Warriors both hoping for comeback 2024-25 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
With so much of last season’s chatter focusing on the frequent unavailability of Draymond Green and the seemingly distracted Andrew Wiggins, the absences of another key member of the Warriors’ rotation were practically relegated to footnotes.
Remember Gary Payton II? Remember how impactful he can be?
It seems the Warriors do.
“They haven’t forgotten what he brings,” GP2’s father, Gary Payton Sr., told NBC Sports Bay Area. “They just want to see more of it, because he was hurt so much last year. When I was in Paris for the Olympics, that was the first thing (Warriors coach) Steve Kerr said. He said, ‘Your son is great. He brings a lot of things that we need. He changes games.
“‘But we can’t keep him on the floor. Gary, if we can keep him on the floor, he’s going to make us better. That’s why we want him here.’”
Keeping GP2 healthy is a priority as Golden State prepares to open training camp next week, with the season opener on Oct. 23 in Portland. He is, after Draymond Green, the team’s most effective defender.
Though he’s only 31, it is reasonable to believe GP2’s injury history was a factor in the Warriors’ offseason pursuit and signing of free agent De’Anthony Melton, who is a strong perimeter defender but comes with his own injury history.
GP2 last season missed 38 games – 11 more than Green – with a variety of injuries. He missed three games with a foot injury, 13 more with a right calf injury and 16 more with a grade 2 strain of his left hamstring. Left calf tightness forced him to miss the final three games of the regular season and the Play-in Tournament loss to the Kings in Sacramento.
Golden State was 2-2 in those games and 17-17 in the other 34 games GP2 missed. Put another way, the Warriors were 27-17 when he was on the court, which is comparable to their 33-22 record posted when Draymond was on the court.
GP2 is, according to multiple league sources, having a good summer. One source: “He looks good.” Another, more cautious, source: “So far, so good.”
His…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gp2-warriors-both-hoping-comeback-181628954.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-09-25 18:16:28
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