Refusing to admit your mistake! The Warriors still sent an inaction-making "defensive gate" in the battle of life and death?

In a previous NBA Western Conference semi-finals G5, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Golden State Warriors 121-110. After this game, the Timberwolves locked the total score of this round of series to 4-1, reaching the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years, while the Warriors were eliminated, ending the playoff journey this season.

In this game, Gary Payton II, who had performed poorly in the previous games, still got the opportunity to enter the rotation lineup. It seems that head coach Steve Kerr still refused to admit his mistake and was still unwilling to kick him out of the rotation lineup. Payton Jr. played 5 minutes and 42 seconds in the game. During this period, he did not complete one shot, scored 1 point, and only contributed 1 steal, with a plus-negative value of +2. When the team needed to chase points, Cole inexplicably sent Payton Jr. As a result, Payton Jr. still dragged down the team's space on the offensive end and still lacked a stable feel on the defensive end, so his value on the court became seriously insufficient. Cole was also very cautious about using Payton Jr. He actually knew that Payton Jr.'s effect on the court was not ideal, but he still gave him a chance to play. As a result, Payton Jr. proved one more time again that he is indeed not suitable to enter the rotation lineup in this level of competition.

In the NBA regular season this season, Payton Jr. made a total of 62 appearances in 82 games, averaging 15 minutes of playing time, averaging 6.5 points, 3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks, as well as 0.6 turnovers and 1.7 fouls, shooting percentage of 57.4%, three-point shooting percentage of 32.6%, and free throw shooting percentage of 71.1%. During the playoffs, Payton Jr. made a total of 11 appearances in these 12 games, averaging 16.4 minutes per game, with averaging 4.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.9 steals, 0.5 turnovers and 1.9 fouls, with a shooting percentage of 44.7% and a three-point shooting percentage of 39.1%.

Peton Jr.'s performance during the playoffs can be said to be a terrible level. His efficiency on the offensive end is a mess, his scoring ability is very limited, and he has always seriously dragged down the team's level on the offensive end. The most important thing is that Payton Jr. also lacks sufficient contribution on the defensive end. He was often asked to defend the Timberwolves' backcourt core Anthony Edwards, but he was beaten by Edwards again and again on the court, and there was no way to do a good job. The offensive end drags down space and the defensive end lacks contribution. It is incredible that such a player can hold a solid position in a rotation lineup. In fact, the only game that Payton Jr. missed was the G7 in the first round series against the Houston Rockets. As a result, without Payton Jr., the Warriors had outstanding competitiveness on both offense and defense, and the team also won a complete victory. Unfortunately, Cole never figured out the situation and was always blindly confident in his tactical arrangements, and in the end he paid the price.