NBA legend Gary Payton has enjoyed watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season. Ahead of the finals between the OKC Thunder and Indiana Pacers, Payton visited India for the BUDX NBA House event in Mumbai, which begins Saturday.
He addressed the media, speaking on various topics, ranging from basketball culture, the game’s current state and the NBA finals.
Payton expressed he was a fan of the Pacers and Thunder being the conference winners this year because of their defensive versatility. A monster on that end of the floor himself, it’s no surprise that “The Glove,” a former Defensive Player of the Year, was excited to watch Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander go at it.
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Payton spoke at length about defense in today's NBA and why it's one of the key reasons most people liked basketball during the 1990s. He was also accepting of the game's evolution amid the young fans' demands for fast-paced, high-scoring games.
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With the game favoring the offense more and defenders struggling to stop players' impacts, Sportskeeda's Arhaan Raje asked Payton what defenders should do against a player like Gilgeous-Alexander.
AR: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the better scorers and is efficient at drawing fouls. How does one stop him?
Payton:
"Against basketball players like Shai, you can't stop anyone. ... No one can be stopped. What you can do is you can contain them. Now, what I just said earlier with the two guards (Tyrese Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander), if it was me coaching, I'd take the ball out of both of their hands, I'd make it very hard for them.
"I'll put somebody on them, I'll trap them. And then when he gets the ball in his hands, I'll deny him and trap him. And make it hard for him to work. Because if you understand, not too many people are going to work more than 10 seconds to get the basketball back, cause' they're gonna get tired. And then that'll tire them out, and that'll make it very difficult to make somebody else beat you.
"If you wanna win games, don't let the star get to it, take him out, we got a better chance of doing what we do. So, to me, I think you just have to contain him. He's averaging between 30 and 26, if I can hold him to 20 to 18, I've done a great job."
Gary Payton was one of the best defensive stoppers of his time. However, he also respected the quality of his opponents and their ability to overcome any adversity. He had the same respect for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he feels the OKC Thunder star cannot be stopped, but he can be contained.
Payton hinted that he would look to trap and deny Gilgeous-Alexander the ball to take him out of the contest. He believes the OKC star can be limited to 18-20 points, significantly lower than his postseason average, which is 29.8 ppg.
Nobody has found any respite against Gilgeous-Alexander this year. While the Pacers haven't been renowned for their defense, they have solid athletes across the board, so they can mix up their coverage against the reigning MVP.
Also read: Former DPOY Gary Payton highlights why Luka Doncic likely won’t get better defensively: "Maybe that's not for him"
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