If They’re Going to Walk the Walk, They Need Payton to Talk the Talk

Gary Payton’s body language and facial expressions speak even louder than his voice. That’s saying something. You could hear his voice coming through your cellphone if you were driving through a tunnel during a hurricane.

In the final games of the regular season Payton’s shoulders slumped, his face went blank. He looked bored, disengaged.

Payton hasn’t stuck around to talk to reporters after recent games. No matter. The face said it all. It lacked the sneer -- or “scrowl,” as Shaquille O’Neal calls it -- that lets you know Payton and his attitude are right.

“That’s because, I don’t know, I’m not feeling comfortable,” Payton said Friday. “Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t feel like I’m involved enough in the situation.

“So that happens. I’m not really comfortable -- I’m still not really comfortable. I just try to make it without starting any commotion. You guys know me. I need to be involved a little bit more than that.

“It’s just what it is. I’m not making a big deal about the situation. I just want to win. As long as we’re winning. If we weren’t winning, it would be different. But we’re winning.”

The Lakers won 56 games this season, good enough to take the Pacific Division after the Sacramento Kings nosedived.

Payton was talking again Friday, sounding ready for the fresh start afforded by the playoffs, and showing optimism that he would return to the Lakers next season if that’s what Karl Malone chose to do.

In the immediate future the Lakers will need Payton, the one with “that Gary face” [Shaq’s words], the guy running his mouth at opponents and providing more scoring punch when opposing defenses load up on O’Neal and Kobe Bryant (they’re 21-7 when he scores 17 points or more). They’ll need defense from him, starting with the matchup against Houston point guard Steve Francis.

Payton averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 assists while playing 34.5 minutes a game this season. Those were his lowest offensive numbers since he averaged 16.5 points and 6.0 assists for the 1993-94 Seattle SuperSonic team that won 63 games.

But those SuperSonics were bounced in the first round of the playoffs, blowing a golden championship opportunity in a wide-open tournament following Michael Jordan’s first retirement.

Payton wants that championship to “solidify my career,” so the quest for a ring took him to Los Angeles, where he arrived with Malone last summer to join the superstar foundation of O’Neal and Bryant. And the quest left Payton on the bench for long stretches of time, and out of place as he tried to navigate his way through the triangle offense.

As long as we’re winning.

In late January and early February the Lakers weren’t winning against the top teams. A loss in Minnesota prompted Payton to say, “I didn’t sign up for this.”

And two days after Sacramento’s Mike Bibby outscored him, 31-8, Payton expressed unhappiness with his role and doubts about his future in Los Angeles (he can opt out of the remaining year in his contract this summer).

At the All-Star break in February, Sam Cassell, who played with Payton after Payton was traded to Milwaukee last season, said: “I don’t think the triangle fits his style. He’s not a guy that, [you] swing the ball, swing the ball and he makes a 15-foot jumper. That’s not Gary Payton. Gary Payton needs to probe, have the ball. That’s when he’s at his best.”

On the Lakers, Bryant is often the one with the ball. He and Payton never meshed. One time Bryant passed to him on a game-deciding possession, and Payton was so surprised to actually get the ball he almost bobbled it away. When Bryant’s game began to take off in the second half of the season, it came at Payton’s expense.

Even while Bryant was winning games for the Lakers, Payton had his moments, in effect playing setup man to Bryant’s closer. He often made the shot that led to the big shot, such as the three-pointer that tied the score with 4:05 left in regulation in Portland on Wednesday, which Bryant followed with a three-pointer for the lead.

Coach Phil Jackson no longer needs to rest Payton to keep him fresh, and Payton should get more minutes with backup Derek Fisher limping through a pulled groin muscle. Jackson also has talked recently about the need to get Payton and Malone involved.

If Payton and Malone get their rings, they want to contribute, not ride in the back of the bus. “We talked about it yesterday,” Payton said. “Karl came up to me and said, ‘Look, this is what we came here for. This is our time right now, in the playoffs. We’ve got to get more involved. We’ve got to do a lot more than what we did in the regular season.’

“And I agreed with him. We tried to sit back most of the year and let Kobe and Shaq do their thing. As we get deeper and deeper into the playoffs, we’re going to have to make [opponents] really realize that we’re a key to this team and we’re going to have to bring our A game.”

They’ve grown closer, to the point that Payton plans to spend time at Malone’s ranch in Arkansas this summer, then follow his advice.

“Whatever he does in his career from now on, I think I’m going to be right there with him,” Payton said. “I’m just going to hang out on the porch with him and smoke stogies, like he do. That’s what he wants me to do, I’m going to go on and do it with him. If he wants to come back to the Lakers, I think I’m going to come back to the Lakers. Whatever he wants. We’re going to hang out all summer, he’s going to have me knock down them trees and all that log stuff.”

But first, there are some big tasks to be done with the Lakers. He doesn’t need his work boots. Just his game face.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Adande, go to latimes.com/adande.