Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne is finally back.
Payne returned to the court for the Suns on February 24 after missing 21 games due to a foot injury but couldn't seem to catch a rhythm.
Through the past two seasons, Payne has been the Suns swiss army knife, always providing a spark on the offensive side of the ball off the bench. Unfortunately for Phoenix, that was not the case as Payne only scored double figures in one out of his first eight games and did not seem like himself on the court which was a big sign for concern.
However, Payne was able to erase those concerns last night against the Orlando Magic, putting up 18 points, two rebounds and five assists en route to a Suns’ 116-113 victory.
“He’s starting to get back to the Cam Payne that we all know and love and appreciate and it takes guys a while,” Suns coach Monty Williams said following the game.
“He’s had some nagging injuries this season and when you take that time off, sometimes it takes you a minute to get going again especially playing the point guard position. He’s starting to score the ball and pass, his interior passing has started to pick up and I thought he had a really nice find to Ish (Wainright) in the corner, making a read, his speed and his juice. I think it elevates our team.”
Payne’s presence is extremely critical for Phoenix. With Kevin Durant out of the lineup, Devin Booker and Chris Paul need someone to take some of the scoring load off of them and Payne is very capable of being that guy.
“That was great, man,” Chris Paul said of how helpful Payne was. “That was great for our team, great for Cam (Payne). He deserves it. Cam puts the work in day in and day out. It was great because our team feeds off that energy. He was great tonight.”
Williams has been trying different rotations including Paul and Payne sharing the floor with one another which seemed to be successful last night.
“I love it,” Paul said on playing with Payne. “I told coach in the Milwaukee game; we only did it for a couple minutes or what not. I think it could be a weapon for us. Both of us with the ability to dribble and handle the ball gives us the opportunity to attack from different angles and not just dribble the ball up court.”
If the Suns are to go on a deep playoff run, Payne will need to be at the top of his game to anchor the second unit and potentially come in for late game situations if Paul is struggling.
Last night was a great sign of what is to come from Payne for the remainder of the season.
Phoenix is back in action on Sunday when they travel to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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