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Gary Payton II will be out at least one more week as he recovers from a strained right calf, the Warriors announced.
Payton, 31, injured his right calf coming off of a screen and exited early from the Warriors’ loss to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 28. An MRI revealed a strain with a tentative week-to-week timeline for recovery.
Payton will, at least, miss the Warriors’ next road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. At the time of his injury, Payton was playing his second game since returning from an ankle sprain that sidelined him for three games prior.
The Warriors are sifting through a rotation merry-go-round as the coaching staff seeks to identify the most impactful lineups to get them out of the .500 win line. Despite the crunch, the team will miss Payton’s point of attack defense against some of the NBA’s most potent ball-handlers — especially against the springy Thunder with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylin Williams.
Payton is averaging nearly six points, three rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in 14 games this season playing 17.3 minutes per game.
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