While he has stood firmly in support of Elfrid Payton all during the regular season, after one postseason game Tom Thibodeau seemed to at least leave the door open for a possible lineup change.
Payton, who struggled badly over the final month of the regular season, saw his minutes drop to a season-low eight minutes and one second Sunday night — playing four minutes and 15 seconds in the first half before getting the hook and then just three minutes and 46 seconds in the third quarter before his night was over.
Payton was scoreless, missing all three of his attempts, a continuation of his offensive output over the final five games of the regular season when he shot a combined 3 of 19 including 0 of 2 from beyond the arc.