3. Bust out the champagne, Cam Payne
Grab the champagne for the end of the campaign. The Cam Payne puns are endless, but it is time for him to celebrate winning the backup point guard spot for the duration of the bubble. In fact, his opponents Ty Jerome and Elie Okobo have likely already called him to concede.
Payne has played fearless over the first three seeding games with the goal of staying in the league. So far, that strategy is working. Payne had 12 points and three assists in 20 minutes of play, showing Monty Williams trusts him when he is in there.
Maybe it is because I’m not fully comfortable with such a fresh face yet or because he shoots the ball with the form of an archer, but for me, Payne has been the master of the, “No, no, no, YES!” shot. My face literally winces when I see him wind up for a deep, pull-up 3, only to go completely limp when he drains it.
More than just his shooting, I liked how Payne gave up the rock to an open big man after an impressive drive. So many times he has tried to score on those and sometimes it has led to out-of-control heaves. In this game, he notched a few assists with some level drop-offs to Deandre Ayton.
On top of all that, he has been playing high-pressure, on-ball defense similar to Jevon Carter. Don’t believe me? Ask the Bulldog himself. In a pregame interview, Carter said that as soon as Cam joined the team, they instantly connected because they had the same mindset.
That’s a heck of an endorsement.