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CLE108
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TOR11-32
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MEM29-15
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Billups not surprised by healthy GP2's impact on Warriors

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Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups discusses the impact that guard Gary Payton II has made for the Warriors since returning to the Bay from Portland in an in-season trade.

PORTLAND -- The finale of the 2022-23 NBA regular season also will be a first for Gary Payton II. He's back at the place he left behind to rejoin the Warriors. 

Payton on Sunday will play against the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time since the Warriors acquired him from Portland at the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9.

Now that he's healthy again, Payton is looking more and more like the player who held a pivotal key to the Warriors' title last season. Blazers coach Chauncey Billups isn't surprised one bit by Payton's impact on Golden State, too. 

"Gary's done what he does," Billups said Sunday ahead of the Warriors-Blazers matchup at Moda Center. "He's the guy that's gonna do all the smart little defensive things. But then offensively, he knows how to get Steph [Curry] shots and Klay [Thompson] shots and Jordan [Poole] shots. 

"He's getting offensive rebounds and kicking it out real quick for threes. He just knows how to play." 

The Blazers gave Payton an free-agency offer he couldn't refuse last offseason, and it happened to be one the Warriors felt they couldn't match. Despite wanting to stay with the Warriors and plenty within Chase Center pushing management to make something work, Payton signed a three-year contract worth more than $26 million to join Portland. But his new chapter was a rocky one right from the start. 

Though he underwent core muscle surgery in the offseason after signing with Portland, Payton was expected to be ready for the regular-season opener. That wasn't the reality of his condition. Payton didn't make his Blazers debut until Jan. 2, after missing the team's first 35 games.

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His career in a Blazers jersey lasted only 15 games, and ended with a win over the Warriors one day before the trade deadline. With the Blazers, he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17 minutes per game while also shooting 58.5 percent from the field. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, Payton failed his physical and was immediately shut down for at least a month due to a core/right adductor issue.

In his first six games back with the Warriors, Payton is averaging 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game while also shooting 62.5 percent from the field. 

The Warriors' win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night was a prime example of how important Payton is to the Warriors' success. Seven Warriors saw time off the bench. Only one had a positive plus/minus. 

Of course, Payton was the lone player, finishing as a plus-11 in 21 minutes after scoring 10 points as well as five rebounds and two blocks. And as Billups alluded to, Payton's defense and decision making only makes life easier for the Warriors' top three scorers. 

"Those three guys in particular benefit from having Gary on the team," Billups said. "He's fit back in very simply there." 

RELATED: Why Warriors-Kings NBA playoff series badly needs to happen

Billups and the rest of the Blazers hoped their own sharpshooters in Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons would benefit most from Payton's presence on the floor.

Health didn't allow that to happen, and once again, the Warriors are unleashing Payton in ways other franchises hadn't been able to figure out.

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