Despite a 120-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, point guard Elfrid Payton and rookie RJ Barrett shined in their season debut for the New York Knicks, already making the right impressions in the first game of the season. Head coach David Fizdale was impressed with Payton's poise, despite coming off the bench.
The 6-foot-4 Louisiana native scored 11 points, racked up eight assists, and swiped five steals — quickly taking over as floor general and taking the place of shooting guard Allonzo Trier (o-for-3 in seven minutes), as Fizdale tinkered with his lineup.
“He stays ready. He's always ready,” Marcus Morris said of Payton, according to SNY's Ian Begley. “He showed us tonight, played well. Anchored the team. When he came in he changed the game for us.”
Payton likely did enough to earn the nod for Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, but he didn't come into Wednesday's game hoping to earn the call.
“That ain't really what I'm about,” said Payton. “I'm just trying to win. Just trying to help the team win.”
Barrett showed he was equally ready to take the stage, scoring 21 points on his first NBA start, shooting a brimming 9-of-13 from the floor and showing his coach he can play.
“I told you, when the popcorn is popping that kid is ready,” said Fizdale of Barrett.”He was fantastic. I thought he really competed [on defense]. He only had really one bad breakdown where he helped off the corner and gave up the three. Overall, he was playing both ends of the floor at a high level.”\
Fizdale noted he might put Barrett in a point guard role at times to see how he fares, and was encouraged from what he saw in preseason outings. While it's likely that the rookie remains a starter, Payton seems to have won the nod of confidence over Dennis Smith Jr. to start at the position.