The national media is starting to get a whiff of Elfrid Payton these days. Even while Russell Westbrook continued to wrack up triple doubles on his own, overshadowing what this young rookie is doing himself.
Payton has been that good for the Magic. The team’s net rating is 6.4 points per 100 possesions better with Payton on the floor than off it, according to Basketball-Reference.com. He has made a very positive impact on the Magic. And this is just his rookie year.
Excuse everyone’s optimism.
Next: Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports