RealGM

bwgood77 wrote:3 ball will be huge for our team offense, though I will temper my expectations. I just really hope he vastly improves defensively. I don't really have too many issues with him offensively other than his weak screen setting.

ImNotMcDiSwear wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:3 ball will be huge for our team offense, though I will temper my expectations. I just really hope he vastly improves defensively. I don't really have too many issues with him offensively other than his weak screen setting.

What do you think about the notion that Ayton's lack of aggression on defense is at least partly the result of his poor conditioning? Do reports of him focusing on cardio give you any cause for optimism? I know you watched a lot more of him at U of A than I did, so perhaps you have more insight on this question.

3toheadmelo wrote:Big Ayton fan here. He looks like he shed a lot of baby fat. Looking good.


I saw this from another article. He seems like he really wants to dominate this season. I'm really excited to watch him this season, especially playing with a point guard like Rubio. I think you guys are gonna be a solid team this season. Cheers

What can the NBA expect from Deandre Ayton in year two?

Improvement. I’ve been in the lab. I can say this, I’ve never been in the gym so much my whole life.

What’s the most notable improvement you’ve made to your game?

Definitely the 3-ball. I’ve worked on it a lot, as well as bringing the ball up and handling the ball around the perimeter. I’m just really trying to take over every possession. Overall, being more dominant every game.

Saberestar wrote:

3toheadmelo wrote:Big Ayton fan here. He looks like he shed a lot of baby fat. Looking good.


I saw this from another article. He seems like he really wants to dominate this season. I'm really excited to watch him this season, especially playing with a point guard like Rubio. I think you guys are gonna be a solid team this season. Cheers

What can the NBA expect from Deandre Ayton in year two?

Improvement. I’ve been in the lab. I can say this, I’ve never been in the gym so much my whole life.

What’s the most notable improvement you’ve made to your game?

Definitely the 3-ball. I’ve worked on it a lot, as well as bringing the ball up and handling the ball around the perimeter. I’m just really trying to take over every possession. Overall, being more dominant every game.

I wanted to see the word DEFENSE on his answer.

4. Phoenix also ranked 29th in defensive rating (114.2 points allowed per game) and dead last in points in the paint allowed per game (53). The front office hopes the frontcourt additions of Aron Baynes, Dario Saric, Cheick Diallo and Kaminsky can help Deandre Ayton, who still has room to grow on that end but was often left on an island underneath the basket as the Suns deployed undersized lineups for the bulk of last season. How effective are these guys as defenders, and what numbers help illustrate that? And what level of potential do you see in Ayton on that end of the floor, both this coming season and in the future?

In terms of the additions, Baynes has rated as a solid-to-slightly above average defender for his career, Saric has been OK, Diallo hasn’t played enough to really know (though not playing much is often a decent indicator of not being very good), and Kaminsky has been pretty porous for much of his career. None of them have track records as exceptional rim protectors, Baynes was average to slightly below in that area last year, whereas Saric and especially Kaminsky were well below average.

As to Ayton, I’m surely not the first to say this, but for him to reach the potential that justified his selection first overall, defensive impact is going to be a huge part of that. It will be very difficult for him to maximize that area of his game as a four. Not that positions matter per se, but rather if he’s playing with another, slower, big it will be harder to keep him near the rim enough for his size and athleticism to take over. That said, the early returns on his rim protection have been uninspiring – he allowed opponents to shoot 64.9 percent at the rim, 4th worst among the 60 centers who defender at least 150 rim attempts last season and his collegiate block numbers were more on the order one might expect from a springy power forward rather than a defensive anchor five man. In his one year at Arizona, he posted a 6.1 percent block rate, which isn’t terrible, but pales in comparison to the college numbers of his hoped-for peer group such as Karl Anthony-Towns (11.5 percent), Joel Embiid (11.7 percent), Myles Turner (12.3 percent) and Anthony Davis (13.7 percent).

Deandre Ayton, Phoenix
Rubio will be the best thing that ever happened to Ayton, who somehow managed to score 25.4 points per 100 on 58.5 percent shooting last season despite playing with point guards randomly selected out of the crowd before the game. Ayton runs the floor very well and should benefit from at least one magical Ricky transition pass per game. Ricky may cramp his spacing a bit in the halfcourt, but he won’t be any worse than the dudes Phoenix was trotting out last season.

Experience should do the rest. Look for Ayton to shake off some of the off-ball defensive confusion that plagued him last season and take better advantage of his natural feet and size — he can swallow up ballhandlers on switches.

Frank Lee wrote:nice work detective

more notably see Pryor vs Arguello
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=uh3_sports_web_gs&p=aaron+pryor+controversy#id=4&vid=9140ebd8b1c561bae0ff390d90bfb13b&action=view
1:04:40 mark.... 'Gimme the other bottle....the one I mix'. Pryor was a stone jawed punching machine

Jesus... a scant 37 yrs ago.

cberry78 wrote:Serious question.

If DA ends up averaging 25/12 are people still going to complain?

Mr Puddles wrote:

cberry78 wrote:Serious question.

If DA ends up averaging 25/12 are people still going to complain?

It really depends on his defense.

If DeAndre Ayton becomes a plus on defense (he's certainly starting to trend that way - which is very encouraging) and he's a 25 /12 guy on high efficiency - not many people will blame the Suns for passing up on him.

If DeAndre Ayton ends up being an elite defender as well as an elite offensive player, people will argue that he's the right pick over Doncic.

If he turns out to be 25/12 guy with questionable defense - he'll be considered a disappointment when compared to players drafted behind him.

Overall it's pretty crazy that Ayton is already looking like a 20+ ppg guy without having a consistent go-to move yet or fully developed arsenal on offense yet.

cberry78 wrote:

Mr Puddles wrote:

cberry78 wrote:Serious question.

If DA ends up averaging 25/12 are people still going to complain?

It really depends on his defense.

If DeAndre Ayton becomes a plus on defense (he's certainly starting to trend that way - which is very encouraging) and he's a 25 /12 guy on high efficiency - not many people will blame the Suns for passing up on him.

If DeAndre Ayton ends up being an elite defender as well as an elite offensive player, people will argue that he's the right pick over Doncic.

If he turns out to be 25/12 guy with questionable defense - he'll be considered a disappointment when compared to players drafted behind him.

Overall it's pretty crazy that Ayton is already looking like a 20+ ppg guy without having a consistent go-to move yet or fully developed arsenal on offense yet.

All of this is kind of my point.

At what point does DA become a net positive like Booker is? Is it 25/12 (which I feel he'll be able to do without much effort)? Will he need to get to 28/15 on the offensive side with minimal D?

I understand that he will always be compared to the other players drafted in the same class as him, but in a vacuum, what does he need to achieve for Suns fans to stop comparing him to "those that shall not be named"?