Knicks: 3 reasons they MUST diminish Elfrid Payton’s role
By Adam Kester
Knicks: Elfrid Payton is statistically one of the worst playmaking guards in the NBA
Elfrid Payton will have games where he gets around 4-6 assists, but make no mistake — his playmaking is lackluster. Looking at some stats from Cleaning The Glass helps to shine some light on this issue: Payton’s .83 Assist-to-usage-rate ratio ranks in the 8th percentile of NBA players. It ranks dead last among qualified point guards this season.
What this statistic tells us is how often a player records an assist given how often they had the ball. So while Payton will have his moments where he finds an open big man, his assist numbers are essentially a product of how often he has the ball, not how good of a passer he is.
You don’t need the numbers to see it. Payton simply doesn’t have the vision to make one-handed-whip passes or over-the-shoulder kick-outs. His passing abilities are limited to simply finding an open man when he gets lost in traffic.
The Knicks’ other starting guard, Reggie Bullock’s passing skillset is non-existent. So while the Knicks have capable playmakers among their starters with Randle and Barrett, they are getting nothing from their backcourt. Zero playmaking from your guards will kill an entire offense.
Payton is good at not turning the ball over — He ranks 10th/28 among qualified point guards in turnover ratio. This is probably a key reason why Thibodeau keeps him in the game for long stretches. Don’t get it twisted, simply not turning the ball over doesn’t outweigh having zero creativity.
Most of the league’s most gifted passers frequently turn the ball over – You have to take risks to generate offense, and right now, Payton and the Knicks’ offense is a low-risk black hole.