ImNotMcDiSwear wrote:bwgood77 wrote:GoodBehavior wrote:
It reminds me of Anthony Davis' early development and progression. Fans do not get to see what these guys are capable of, and judge what's in front of them (college tapes and games when DA is a rookie) rather than the potential upside. There's a information vacuum void. Coaches, GM, and players, however, get to see more than we do. And everyone in the organization believes that DA will be dominant. Oubre mentioned it recently, for example.
It's not just people in the organization. Klay Thompson said earlier this year that DA could be the best center in this league. But did say it will take time. Fans on this forum, however, don't have much patience and criticize every little thing he does work. It's understandable given the progression of Alex, Marquese, JJ, etc., so I can see why guys like Bwgood are jaded.
AD was a beast in college and led his team to a national championship. He averaged 4.7 bpg. Ayton was less than 2 bpg and got carved up by a small school in the first round of the tourney. Their whole strategy was based on exploiting Ayton.
AD was a great defensive rookie C and a great defender in college. Ayton is a nice likely 20/10 guy with good efficiency inside, as of now.
Klay isn't wrong in that Ayton could be the best C in the league, but so could a lot of guys. I hope Ayton improves on D and think he will to some extent. The extent of improvement will depend on how far he goes. You always hear he is a hard worker, so that's good.
I'm not nearly as low on him as some are though if you go through the game threads. He's been about what I expected and I think he can get better.
Ayton's just such a weird player. His touch might be the best I've ever seen in a big man. And I know it's weird to say (because his defensive shortcomings and mistakes are so frequently apparent), but I think his improvement on the defensive end was evident in preseason. It was inconsistent, but finally we saw him pick up the guard on penetration and get some blocks. Occasionally, he would remember that he needs to battle for rebounding position. Overall, the improvements I saw from him this preseason were further confirmation of his extreme talent level.
OTOH, your concern about BBIQ continues to be validated. He gets lost on both ends, often isn't looking the right direction, and doesn't get his hands up all the time. It seems at times like he's overthinking, and at other times like he's overwhelmed. It's comforting to think that these are just problems young players have, and he'll grow out of them. But it may also be that his head's not in the right spot. Does he have what it takes mentally to reach his potential?
The good news for the team is a big part of why Ayton's defensive shortcomings are so glaring is that the team's defense has so obviously improved. Ayton's no longer the third or fourth defensive breakdown of the possession, so it stands out a bit more when it's just him screwing things up. Same thing with turnovers on the offensive end.
Hope to see continued improvement as the year and his career progress.
Yes, I noticed him provide help and block a shot under the basket which is not something I normally had seen from him in the past. I wasn't nearly as down on him in the last preseason game as many.
