Magic's Elfrid Payton: Cleared to play Thursday

Payton (ankle) has been cleared to play in Thursday's game against the Grizzlies, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Analysis:

Payton rolled his ankle during Tuesday's win over the Spurs, but with X-rays coming back negative and his sprain being deemed minor, he'll be cleared to return to the court right away. It looks as though coach Frank Vogel will go with D.J. Augustin as his starting point guard for the foreseeable future, but Payton should still see a sizable workload off the bench after playing 29 and 23 minutes in the last two contests.