Deandre Ayton news and discussion

[WeekapaugGroove]

He's not Amare and will never be Amare. Which isn't all bad because Ayton is already a much better defensive player than Stat ever became.

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[cberry78]

DA's still learning his reads, especially on the offensive side of things - he was totally flabbergasted that he had wide-open drives to the rim on those 2 vids and he didn't know what to do. It's almost like his defensive understanding is so far advanced of his offensive understanding of the game that he KNEW that the D should have rotated to cover him on those 2 PnR's that his automatic response was to expect them to be there....and when they weren't he had to readjust what his options were on the fly.

Side note: does anyone have any stats on how many PnR's actually went to DA "rolling" last year (and the year before, and college) instead of the ball being kicked out/around? I wonder if the entire idea of "rolling" to the basket is just so new to him that he's still trying to learn it (w/o any training camp).

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

I hope he drops that goofy personality. I know some fans like that kind of thing, but I think he's beginning to understand the "corporate" side of public relations. HIs conditioning looks much better, I expect continued improvement from DA.

I don't like it either, but it is who he is. I don't expect it to change, but I think people let it flow into their evaluation of him not taking things seriously when the coaches say he works hard and the players say he's a sponge for information.

I mean, his defense has vastly improved every year. HIs drtg is extremely improved this year..he is the anchor and is dropping into the paint and moving in front of everyone who gets there, even when the ball moves. I think teams are surprised moving it off the guy he is guarding is not working, and then he alters/deflects shots.

Also his reboundin is way up, by over 20%...he was a little over 12 reb per 36 last year and is 15.4 reb per 36 this year/

His scoring is down, but his trips to the line are up over 55% and his assists are up.

People still find things to complain about..whatever they can, but he's vastly improved in the little things, and things that don't show up in the box score like off ball and help defense...then also the reb, ast and trips to the line are all big positives.

I think as he learns how to play with Paul he will improve in his scoring as well.

But so many care only about PPG and scoring so you see a lot of complaints.

His net rtg or impact per floor per 100 possessions has gone from year to year to +4,+3.+18. Drtg improve by 10 after improving by 5 the year before.

Booker has been the far bigger disappointment, but you don't hear a peep about him relative to Ayton when Ayton is improving almost everywhere while Booker's efficiency has gone from a near 62% TS% to a 54.5% TS%...his 3 has dropped from 35.7% to 30.8%, his turnovers per 36 have gone from 3.8 to 5.7 and his assists from 6.5 to 3.8 per 36.

[cberry78]

Read on Twitter

I hope he drops that goofy personality. I know some fans like that kind of thing, but I think he's beginning to understand the "corporate" side of public relations. HIs conditioning looks much better, I expect continued improvement from DA.

I don't like it either, but it is who he is. I don't expect it to change, but I think people let it flow into their evaluation of him not taking things seriously when the coaches say he works hard and the players say he's a sponge for information.

I mean, his defense has vastly improved every year. HIs drtg is extremely improved this year..he is the anchor and is dropping into the paint and moving in front of everyone who gets there, even when the ball moves. I think teams are surprised moving it off the guy he is guarding is not working, and then he alters/deflects shots.

Also his reboundin is way up, by over 20%...he was a little over 12 reb per 36 last year and is 15.4 reb per 36 this year/

His scoring is down, but his trips to the line are up over 55% and his assists are up.

People still find things to complain about..whatever they can, but he's vastly improved in the little things, and things that don't show up in the box score like off ball and help defense...then also the reb, ast and trips to the line are all big positives.

I think as he learns how to play with Paul he will improve in his scoring as well.

But so many care only about PPG and scoring so you see a lot of complaints.

His net rtg or impact per floor per 100 possessions has gone from year to year to +4,+3.+18. Drtg improve by 10 after improving by 5 the year before.

Booker has been the far bigger disappointment, but you don't hear a peep about him relative to Ayton when Ayton is improving almost everywhere while Booker's efficiency has gone from a near 62% TS% to a 54.5% TS%...his 3 has dropped from 35.7% to 30.8%, his turnovers per 36 have gone from 3.8 to 5.7 and his assists from 6.5 to 3.8 per 36.

Small sample size, but DA's taking 6 fewer shots per game so far (down 4.7 per 36 min). That's going to have a huge impact on his scoring.

[sunskerr]

Yes, Ayton can still be our second best player overall (maybe our best technically if Booker's defense doesn't improve?) if his defense keeps improving and his offensive game expands to include 3s. I'm almost 100% over him not being a go to scorer. I only care about what he does defensively, on the glass, and his 3 ball progress.

Think Rudy Gobert 2.0- A defensive center who shoots 3s, free throws, and moves better on the perimeter. I'll take that player any day of the week...because the only other player who you could describe like that is Anthony Davis.

Also for the morons out there please don't say that I'm saying he'll be Anthony Davis because I'm not. Anthony Davis has a go-to offensive game whereas Ayton probably will never have that.

[Bogyo]

^^ #Iversonvoice: Free throws? We talkin bout free throws? Not a midrange turnaround? We talkin bout Free throws man? SheAndre? good joke to start the new year with, made me giggle a bit.

[Frank Lee]

I’d rather see Ayton shooting from 10-15 ft than the 3. I’d rather see him develop a jump hook than be the dunker most want. Both those shots look to be available anytime he wants.

Shouldn’t square peg round hole this kid. He does somethings well. He is being forced out of his comfort zone with the pick and roll which he does passively with both.

I think most importantly, we shelve the notion that this kid will be our second best player..... it’s not going to happen if Mikal continues his silent but deadly night in night out play.

[Bogyo]

I’d rather see Ayton shooting from 10-15 ft than the 3. I’d rather see him develop a jump hook than be the dunker most want. Both those shots look to be available anytime he wants.

Shouldn’t square peg round hole this kid. He does somethings well. He is being forced out of his comfort zone with the pick and roll which he does passively with both.

I think most importantly, we shelve the notion that this kid will be our second best player..... it’s not going to happen if Mikal continues his silent but deadly night in night out play.

Voice of reason. Thanks

[bwgood77]

Oh yeah, I definitely don't expect him to be a more important player than Mikal now that his 3 ball is not only back from the end of last season, but much improved from there and more in line with his senior year in college. I expected him to be a 40% 3 pt shooter and to develop a handle but didn't expect him to self create this much, especially going against guys like LeBron.

I mean, these are just about the most important type of players you can have. He's also a very high IQ player and a really good passer. He also VERY rarely turns it over.

I won't be surprised if he rivals for our best or most important player over the next couple of years.

Ayton, on the other hand, has also improved more than I anticipated since coming into the league. I was really worried about his defense and I am pretty shocked at his improvement. He's always been an elite rebounder. I am not worried at all about scoring. I've watched him probably longer than most, and he's better at some things than people think. I just think he is adjusting for the 2nd year in a row to a new PG....but more importantly, he doesn't need to score a lot or take that many shots..same goes for Booker, because we have a lot of guys who can score and are very deep.

[Maze]

Read on Twitter

I hope he drops that goofy personality. I know some fans like that kind of thing, but I think he's beginning to understand the "corporate" side of public relations. HIs conditioning looks much better, I expect continued improvement from DA.

I don't like it either, but it is who he is. I don't expect it to change, but I think people let it flow into their evaluation of him not taking things seriously when the coaches say he works hard and the players say he's a sponge for information.

I mean, his defense has vastly improved every year. HIs drtg is extremely improved this year..he is the anchor and is dropping into the paint and moving in front of everyone who gets there, even when the ball moves. I think teams are surprised moving it off the guy he is guarding is not working, and then he alters/deflects shots.

Also his reboundin is way up, by over 20%...he was a little over 12 reb per 36 last year and is 15.4 reb per 36 this year/

His scoring is down, but his trips to the line are up over 55% and his assists are up.

People still find things to complain about..whatever they can, but he's vastly improved in the little things, and things that don't show up in the box score like off ball and help defense...then also the reb, ast and trips to the line are all big positives.

I think as he learns how to play with Paul he will improve in his scoring as well.

But so many care only about PPG and scoring so you see a lot of complaints.

His net rtg or impact per floor per 100 possessions has gone from year to year to +4,+3.+18. Drtg improve by 10 after improving by 5 the year before.

Booker has been the far bigger disappointment, but you don't hear a peep about him relative to Ayton when Ayton is improving almost everywhere while Booker's efficiency has gone from a near 62% TS% to a 54.5% TS%...his 3 has dropped from 35.7% to 30.8%, his turnovers per 36 have gone from 3.8 to 5.7 and his assists from 6.5 to 3.8 per 36.

Because Booker has proven to have heart & be a gamer.He's just in a slump right now.Booker's 3 pt shooting baffles me, tho.His rookie year, I just knew he'd be a 40% guy.He surprisingly misses a lot of wide open 3's, also.End of the day,I trust him to go out there and compete.Can't say the same about Ayton just yet.

[Saberestar]

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[sunskerr]

He loves to take that mid range jumper doesn't he? Sigh, as long as it's going down I'll live with it but it's really not something he should be always going to. It's nice to have in his back pocket though and maybe he'll get it down like LMA. Reps reps reps. And it bodes well for him working hard on developing a 3 game since he seems to like shooting the ball. Psychologically speaking the 3 ball fits him well.

His man defense was flawless in the Denver game though. Nothing else to say about that.

[darmani]

Read on Twitter

[suns12345]

Interesting thought I had... lets say Ayton turns out to be a tim duncan clone (unlikely I know), but finesse guy, loves the midrange, great defender etc. Essentially ayton ends up in the conversation for greatest pf/c of all time.

Would you still say picking him #1 overall was a bad choice - noting Doncic is arguably on track to be one of the greats? (Sorry for potentially restarting a Doncic/Ayton debate - I hate that as much as everyone else on here - but just an interesting thing I was thinking about and wanted to see what others views were)

[bwgood77]

On the post prior to yours, it's good that Ayton is focusing on D, as Paul has said is their priority. This is what I and a few others wanted, because that was his biggest weakness. He really wants to be that anchor down low and a great switcher onto the perimeter when needed. The offense will come for a guy like him...he has all the skills...he can shoot, score down low, finish, put back. I've seen him make moves to the basket and self create, although I know some focus not on the entire body of work and don't recall seeing it (or possibly never have) so I don't think offense will be a problem, nor does I think this current team need it, at least not all the time.

Interesting thought I had... lets say Ayton turns out to be a tim duncan clone (unlikely I know), but finesse guy, loves the midrange, great defender etc. Essentially ayton ends up in the conversation for greatest pf/c of all time.

Would you still say picking him #1 overall was a bad choice - noting Doncic is arguably on track to be one of the greats? (Sorry for potentially restarting a Doncic/Ayton debate - I hate that as much as everyone else on here - but just an interesting thing I was thinking about and wanted to see what others views were)

Of course if he ends up like Duncan, it will not be a bad pick. Duncan is thought of as like a top 5 player...at worst top 10 of all time, ahead of guys like Hakeem, Shaq, etc.

Doncic may end up the best, but it will still not be recalled,just as Olajuwon is rarely thought of as the wrong pick.

[DRK]

Would love to see Ayton develop a rip-thru/driving move on his faceup game. Hes quick enough, quicker than most centers , that if he attacked the man more, itll Draw him more fouls and more double teams.

[Bogyo]

Would love to see Ayton develop a rip-thru/driving move on his faceup game. Hes quick enough, quicker than most centers , that if he attacked the man more, itll Draw him more fouls and more double teams.

Shouldn't be that hard to learn either. Not much dribbling involved, max 1. He can go for a dunk (layup) after that for sure, even if he starts the move above the FT line.

[lilfishi22]

Would love to see Ayton develop a rip-thru/driving move on his faceup game. Hes quick enough, quicker than most centers , that if he attacked the man more, itll Draw him more fouls and more double teams.

I've wanted him to be able to do that since his rookie season. He doesn't need to have Blake Griffin or AD level handles but just one or two steps is enough for him to get to the rim so he really only needs one, two dribble max. Right now he doesn't put the ball on the floor when he should and does it when he shouldn't.

[matt131]

Watch on YouTube

[Saberestar]

Averages from his last three games:

19 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 blocks in 33 mpg.

Shooting 73% (!!) from the field and 90% from the FT line.