Suns PG Elfrid Payton has been consistently inconsistent this season, and this post will highlight that. But he is on an upswing recently, and it looks like there might be a formula for succeeding with him. With PG Cam Payne on the shelf until after the ASG, there is time for Payton to at least become consistently OK.

For the season, Payton is shooting 39.4% from the field, 28.6% from the arc, and 39.3% from the foul line. Those numbers are simply unacceptable, not just for a team with championship aspirations, but for any team. Those are the kind of stats that can end an NBA career.

Payton has been up and down this season, but in four games from 1/30 thru 2/5 (WAS, ATL, BKN, SAS), he pretty much hit rock bottom. With Cam Payne out, Elf became the 2nd string PG, and he struggled mightily. If my math is right, he averaged 14.5 minutes, 1.75 pts, 20% FG, 20% 3PTFG, 3.5 assists, and a 1.74-1 assist/turnover ratio (that is not a good ratio for a PG). The low-lights of these games were a 4th qtr versus WAS when the Suns were outscored 29-10, and a 4th qtr versus CHI when the Suns were outscored 41-25.

He averaged a -9.25 plus/minus score in those four games, three of which were Suns victories. That kind of performance is not going to make it.

But whether it was the act of fickle basketball gods, or coaching intervention, or his own volition, Payton changed everything. In four games from 2/7 thru 2/12 (ORL, MIL, PHI, CHI), Payton has looked pretty. Per my math, he averaged 16.25 minutes, 7.25 pts, 52% FG, 100% 3PTFG (on two 3PT shots), 4.0 assists, and a 4.0-0.5 assist/turnover ratio.

He averaged a +4.6 plus/minus score for those four games, and did not have a minus plus/minus in any of them. All of these games were Suns victories.

The Suns coaches might be figuring out a formula for making Payton successful on the court. For one thing, he is very good at finding teammates who move without the ball or run down the court in transition. He has been very good at passing to Mikal Bridges on the move, and notice in this linked video how he finds Torrey Craig, among others: https://go.nba.com/i0xdn Put Payton in an offense with a lot of moving bodies and with teammates who defend and run downcourt, and he might be able to consistently succeed. I wonder if anyone else has thoughts on this.

It remains to be seen if Payton's recent play is a fluke. The big question is, can he continue to shoot from the field as well as he has in the last few games? Right now, when he does make a shot, it seems like luck, and luck does run out. He could be an NBA mainstay if he could become an average shooter or finisher, but we can say that about any number of guys who are no longer in the Association. His stock is rising, but the market is volatile... would you keep him in your portfolio?