The NBA playoffs continue, with the Warriors playing the Nuggets in three games, and the Warriors are currently taking a 3-0 lead. It's only a matter of time before they advance to the next round. There are a lot of Warriors players in this series who have played well. Curry, Thompson and Poole have all played very consistently in three consecutive games on the offensive end. In addition to the dominance of these three people on the offensive end, many of the Warriors' players are also silently paying on the defensive end, and they should also be praised by fans.
The contribution of players such as Green, Wiggins and Payton Jr. on the defensive end is also not negligible. It even plays a decisive role in the competition. Payton Jr. was on the Warriors' roster in this year's playoffs, and in just a 10-man rotation, Payton Jr. still averaged 17 minutes per game. It can be seen that Cole attaches great importance to him. Payton Jr. averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
And in the last game against the Nuggets, he made all three shots from outside the three-point line, which really surprised many fans, and Peyton Jr.'s performance on the defensive end was obvious to all. Active and flexible and extremely mobile, he has become an indispensable part of the Warriors.
But it's worth noting that his contract expires this summer to become a free agent. After the end of the last game, Kerr also expressed his love for Peyton Jr., and bluntly said that Peyton Jr. is very suitable for the Warriors. Kerr's words also seem to allude to the management's need to find a way to keep Peyton Jr. this summer, in fact, the Warriors still have certain difficulties in keeping Peyton Jr. After all, their salary space pressure is very large. Payton Jr.'s current performance can get a contract with an annual salary of more than 5 million, and the Warriors may have to bear more luxury tax pressure if they want to keep Payton Jr. Of course, it depends on whether the Warriors owner is willing to spend this money.
Payton Jr.'s importance to the Warriors is self-evident, and he can be said to be an important part of the Warriors' defensive system. Especially in the case of Poole's poor defense, when he and Pooler are on the floor at the same time, he can liberate Poole's defensive pressure, and the Warriors' defenders on the outside are still very scarce, so many fans hope that the Warriors can keep Payton Jr., and we will wait and see what decision the Warriors management will make this summer.