During this away game trip, Gary Payton found his most comfortable playing style.
His playing time was strictly controlled by Rick Carlisle and the medical team to around 28 minutes each night. Head physical therapist Ed Lasset kept a close eye on the knee cartilage wear and lower back pain he had accumulated in Seattle in his early years. Lasset used an ultrasonic massager to massage both sides of his lumbar spine before and after each game, and his warm-up stretches were also timed with a stopwatch. When there were back-to-back games, if Gary Payton felt tightness in his lower back muscles when he woke up in the morning, the coaching staff would simply let him rest on the sidelines in a suit.
In those 28 minutes, Gary Payton consistently contributed 12 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals, while maintaining a three-point shooting percentage of around 34%.
This style of play clearly divides Gary Payton's game into three segments.
Eight minutes into the game, on the bench, Gary Payton became Dwane Casey's assistant coach. He draped a large towel over his head, chewed sugar-free gum, and leaned forward to observe the defensive rotations. Drawing on his over ten years of experience in the league, Gary Payton could shout out the opposing point guard's movement from the bench as soon as they crossed half-court and began tactical hand signals, "Double screen on the baseline! Don't jump on the weak side, he's looking for a cut!"
Every time Wade left the court, Gary Payton would grab his jersey collar and point out the flaws of the guards on the court. " Dwyane, look at that guy's footwork. Before he switches from right to left, his left heel will turn outwards in advance. Don't follow his shoulder movements, keep your eyes down and look at his waist. As soon as he uses a screen, you use your hip to push against his lower body, forcing him to go to the left. Kevin can always help him out inside."
Towards the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, Gary Payton led Tyronn Lue, Rasheed Wallace, and Okur in transitional periods. He no longer spent 10 seconds posting up in the low post like he used to. He delegated all the fast break runs to Tyronn Lue, while he slowly followed up to the frontcourt, controlling the tempo from the 45-degree angle or left side. When facing a slender backup point guard, he would back down a couple of steps to draw help defense before passing the ball to a cutting teammate. When the defense collapsed into the paint, he would sink an open jump shot.
When the score is close in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, Rick Carlisle will take Ben Wallace out and field Boston's most stable lineup for the final stretch of the season: Gary Payton, Wade, Pierce, Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace.
During this period, Gary Payton took over the defensive communication and offensive orchestration on the court, freeing up Wade to be a pure weapon for cutting into the paint.
February 11, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia 76ers had just fired head coach Randy Ayles the day before, with legend Chris Ford serving as interim head coach. Iverson's right ankle was swollen and he had a brace under his ribs. He played the entire game, leading Eric Snow, Kenny Thomas, and Dalembert for a full 44 minutes.
With 3 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was 96-94, with Boston leading by only 2 points.
Rick Carlisle called a timeout and brought on the final five players. The 20,000 Philadelphia home fans stood up and booed, and whistles and boos echoed in the arena.
Gary Payton received the serve at the baseline, pulled up his shorts with his left hand on his outside thigh, and steadily advanced with his right hand controlling the ball. Eric Snow closed in, covering the entire court, pressing his chest against Gary Payton's shoulder to apply pressure.
Gary Payton turned to the side, using his back and broad lower body to shield Snow, and slowly dribbled the ball across the center line. He didn't forget to trash-talk Snow: " Eric, Allen's taken almost 30 shots tonight, and you've been running back and forth like a spectator all night. How many times have you even touched the ball? Do you even remember the feel of a basketball?"
Snow gritted his teeth and rammed into Payton. Just as he crossed the three-point line and the sideline referee's view was blocked by Snow's back, Gary Payton lowered his left forearm and bumped into Snow's soft rib area.
Snow's breath hitched, and he took a half-step back. Using the space, Gary Payton flicked his right wrist and passed the ball directly to Garnett high above the free-throw line.
Kenny Thomas moved up to defend Garnett's mid-range jumper, Wade, in the weak-side corner, suddenly used Pierce's off-ball screen to cut into the paint. Wade received a handoff pass from Garnett, pushed off with his right foot, and his first step directly bypassed the recovering Iverson, heading straight for the basket.
Dalembert had no choice but to leave Rasheed Wallace on the perimeter open and rush over to help defend. Wade dodged the block in mid-air by tucking his stomach in, and before landing, he flicked the ball to the perimeter. The ball was passed a little too far back and flew to the left side of the arc.
Rasheed stepped half a step to the right to receive the ball, and taking advantage of Dalembert's inability to recover in time in the penalty area, he raised the ball above his head with both hands and shot with a straight arm.
"Whoosh."
The ball grazed the net and went into the basket, making it 99 to 94.
On the next possession, the Philadelphia 76ers called for a screen from Thomas Iverson the top of the key. Garnett and Rasheed immediately switched on defense. Garnett took a big step to cover Iverson's right drive lane, while Rasheed moved laterally to block Thomas's cut-to-the-basket route.
Iverson, facing Garnett, used a series of feints, trying to slip through the gap on the wing. Gary Payton, lurking near the free-throw line, retreated while yelling at Pierce, "Block his left hand! He's going left!"
Pierce moved laterally to block the corner. Iverson changed direction and just as he was about to swing the racket towards his left crotch, Gary Payton came up from the side. Gary Payton didn't reach out randomly; he anticipated Iverson's rhythm as he swished the ball, and with the edge of his palm, he sliced the ball away above Iverson's wristband with a snap.
The ball rolled towards the center circle, and Iverson and Gary Payton simultaneously dove to the ground to try and grab it. Gary Payton slid along the ground, caught the ball in his arms, and with a powerful flick of his right hand, sent the ball skimming across the floor between Snow's legs.
Wade, on a fast break, received the ball inside the three-point line, took two big steps, leaped into the air, and dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.
101 to 94.
Wade landed and ran back to his half of the court, where he high-fived Gary Payton, who had just gotten up from the ground.
Chris Ford called a timeout. After the timeout, Iverson hit a long two-pointer over Garnett's tight defense, bringing the score to 101-96.
With 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the game, the Philadelphia 76ers used a full-court press, with Snow and Iverson surrounding Wade at the midcourt line. Wade turned sideways to hold off Snow, lobbed the ball to Gary Payton in the middle, and then accelerated down the sideline to draw Iverson away.
Gary Payton received the ball in center circle, faked a shot with his right foot to shift Thomas's weight, and then passed the ball to Garnett at the free-throw line. After the pass, Gary Payton used Rasheed's baseline screen to slip to the corner.
Garnett drew help defense and flicked the ball to the open Gary Payton with one hand. Gary Payton stood firm on both feet, his knees slightly bent, and launched an open three-pointer.
The ball grazed the net and went into the basket, making it 104 to 96. The point difference was now 8 points.
Gary Payton didn't look at the basket as he retreated on defense. Instead, he walked over to the Philadelphia 76ers' bench, spread his hands at the ashen-faced interim head coach Chris Ford, and said, "Call a timeout, Chris! Allen is covered in injuries. He's already played 40 minutes tonight. Don't let him keep going like this. This game is over!"
In the ensuing possession, Pierce hit a turnaround jumper with his back to the basket in the elbow area. With 38 seconds left in the game, Iverson drew a foul on a drive, but due to exhaustion, his first free throw bounced off the edge of the Hoop.
Rasheed boxed out Dalembert under the basket, grabbed the rebound, and held the ball firmly in his arms.
The final buzzer sounded, and the score was 106-98.