Getty Warriors guard Stephen Curry gestures from the bench with #0 Gary Payton II.
A video on X (previously Twitter) surfaced on Sunday, December 10, revealing Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II’s progress in his recovery from a serious calf injury suffered on November 28.
San Francisco Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick posted the video of Payton II intensely working on a stationary bike. He added that Payton II will be re-evaluated later this week — a great sign of an imminent return.
Good sign for #Warriors: Gary Payton II (calf injury) working hard on stationary bike. He’ll be re-evaluated later this week
The positive news came at a crucial juncture for the Warriors, who have gone two games below .500 after blowing another double-digit lead in an overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Payton II, who signed a three-year, $26 million deal with the Warriors, tore his right calf on a November 28 loss to the Sacramento Kings in a game they also squandered a 24-point lead. The Warriors have posted a 2-2 record since then.
On November 29, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported he would be out indefinitely.
Payton II is averaging 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game this season. But his modest numbers do not paint the whole picture of how important his role is for the Warriors. The team is outscoring opponents by 4.7 points per 100 possessions when Payton II is on the floor. They are minus-0.7 worse without him.
Without Payton II, Warriors coach Steve Kerr had relied on Moses Moody, who averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.8 steals since Payton II went down.
Steve Kerr Still Believes in Warriors as Championship Team
Amid the Warriors’ struggles, Kerr still believes in this roster.
“We’re good enough to win a championship,” Kerr said after their overtime loss in Oklahoma City. “This team. I believe that. But if we are just going to turn it over and throw the ball to the other team and foul over and over, then we’re going to lose.”
“We know the formula. We just controlled that whole game on the road against a great team,” Kerr added. “That’s our game. So, yeah turnovers and fouls [were the reasons we lost].”
The Warriors gave up a season-high 28 turnovers, the most they have committed in the Kerr era. Their starters, who have been woeful to start the season, had 19 turnovers led by Andrew Wiggins’ 6. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green had 4 errors each.
Stephen Curry Tired of Warriors Losing
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry showed his frustration after the loss to OKC when asked what they needed to do to right the ship.
“I don’t know man,” a dejected Curry told reporters after the loss. “We got to figure out how to stop talking about it and do it or else [we’ll] be into the new year with the same problem. So whatever it is, if it’s within our control, we got to do it if we’re going to be any type of a serious team.
“And yeah, I’m kind of sick of talking about it too. So [we] just got to go do it.”
Curry scored 34 points, hiking his scoring average to a league-seventh-best 29.4 per game. He’s been carrying the Warriors this season. But his inconsistent supporting cast and their erratic plays have wiped out the good vibes of their 6-2 start.