National Basketball Association

Over/Under Cameron Payne

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The new year brings new expectations. But, what should we expect from Cameron Payne this season.

Will Cameron Payne play over or under 20 minutes a game?

The Thunder’s backcourt has been slowly thinning out the past few years. It started with James Harden going to the Houston Rockets and later with Reggie Jackson singing with the Detroit Pistons.

Westbrook plays a large number of minutes, which don’t seem as though there going down anytime soon. But, someone has to come off the bench for Westbrook and Oladipo.

Cameron Payne can fill in and play along both Westbrook and Oladipo. If Oladipo and Westbrook stagger minutes between each other, then Payne can squeeze in about 20 minutes a game. Last year, Payne averaged a little over 12 minutes a game. So jumping up to 20 won’t be too big of a step for him.

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Will Cameron Payne average over or under 14 points a game?

Last season, Payne was relatively inconsistent as a scorer. He made a few nice shots here and there, but he wasn’t a true scoring threat off the bench. His size and awareness are issues for him. Payne won’t blow by defenders and he’s not a catch and shoot guy. While he’s gotten noticeably better at passing, his offensive game was still the same in Summer League. Because of this, he won’t average more than 14 points a game.

Over/under 15 DNPs?

Trust is a huge factor for bench players. They must come in for short bursts and sustain a solid level of play or add a certain variety to the game.

Do the Thunder trust Payne yet?

I’m not sure.

It will be very interesting to see how quick of a leash Billy Donovan has on Payne. If he comes in the game and makes some quick mistakes, will they pull him?

They very easily can. Especially, with Anthony Morrow and Andre Robertson in the rotation. They could take the approach of subing them in instead of a backup point guard. This would require that either Oladipo or Westbrook stay on the court at all times, which is not impossible to do.

Because of this, Payne will see over 15 DNPs this season.

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