2023-24 Season Discussion and Speculation - Free Agency Begins

[Jdiddy701]

Good now is his time to put up or shut up no excuses. I expect 22 and 11 and defensive anchor numbers anything less and I'll join the time to move on Parade of posters.

He won't put up those #s. I'll be happy with 14 and 10 if he plays solid defense and is efficient. Those were his numbers in 20-21.

I see you mention 11 boards...I've seem a number of people mention 12..but only 2 guys in the NBA averaged 12 (Sabonis & AD), and they both played 34 or more minutes. Jokic and Vucevic averaged 11 but they were at like 33.5 minutes. Embiid was at 10.2 on 34.6 mpg.

Ayton played a tad over 30 mpg and averaged 10. Had he played 10%+ more like those guys he is likely over 11 with those guys.

There are times Ayton can do better at rebounding but he's still right there.

I care more about team rebounding anyway and KD is a better rebounding PF than we've ever had too, and KBD and Okogie are better rebouning SFs than Bridges as well.

I told myself I’m done talking about Ayton but the usual people are doing everything they can to perceive as the Suns fans are to blame and not Ayton. These are the type of people that DA probably has around him in his circle. The ones he didn’t get along with are people that are only trying to help him and hold him accountable.

“I care about more team rebounding”

That clip of him in Denver where he’s just watching Durant fight Jokic for multiple rebounds is something he constantly does. He very rarely EVER go out his way to get a rebound. Effort is all we’ve ever cared about with DA.

Again, I’m super excited to see how he plays this season. Part of me still has some hope that his potential will somewhat finally be reached under Vogel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bwgood77]

Good now is his time to put up or shut up no excuses. I expect 22 and 11 and defensive anchor numbers anything less and I'll join the time to move on Parade of posters.

He won't put up those #s. I'll be happy with 14 and 10 if he plays solid defense and is efficient. Those were his numbers in 20-21.

I see you mention 11 boards...I've seem a number of people mention 12..but only 2 guys in the NBA averaged 12 (Sabonis & AD), and they both played 34 or more minutes. Jokic and Vucevic averaged 11 but they were at like 33.5 minutes. Embiid was at 10.2 on 34.6 mpg.

Ayton played a tad over 30 mpg and averaged 10. Had he played 10%+ more like those guys he is likely over 11 with those guys.

There are times Ayton can do better at rebounding but he's still right there.

I care more about team rebounding anyway and KD is a better rebounding PF than we've ever had too, and KBD and Okogie are better rebouning SFs than Bridges as well.

I told myself I’m done talking about Ayton but the usual people are doing everything they can to perceive as the Suns fans are to blame and not Ayton. These are the type of people that DA probably has around him in his circle. The ones he didn’t get along with are people that are only trying to help him and hold him accountable.

“I care about more team rebounding”

That clip of him in Denver where he’s just watching Durant fight Jokic for multiple rebounds is something he constantly does. He very rarely EVER go out his way to get a rebound. Effort is all we’ve ever cared about with DA.

Again, I’m super excited to see how he plays this season. Part of me still has some hope that his potential will somewhat finally be reached under Vogel.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's not Suns fans faults of course and I don't know who is blaming fans for his faults, though I imagine constant criticism and noise is probably distracting for some. but it's not the fault for when he freezes up like that and overthinking, freezing and not playing with instinct has been a long problem of his. But yeah, when he has those bad moments or bad games here and there, it's all on him, not on the fans.

That particular play was blown out of proportion as he was out of bounds on the other side of the basket. All he could have done is foul Jokic. Had he tried to jump to get the ball he would have either hit his head on the rim or jumped right into Jokic.

I agree he could do better rebounding at times but that likely goes for just about anyone, given he still ranks near the tops of guys who play major minutes, especially on a per minute basis. He often is jumping up alongside the opponent trying to grab it or tip it his way.

But of course it's about team rebounding. Who cares about individual stats? People focus too much on that. If our team out rebounds. If you want to focus on raw #s, he was one of only a handful of Cs who got 18 and 10. But that doesn't matter as much as playing solid D. He has lapses in rebounding but everyone has some bad rebounding games. There is just so much laser focus on his faults. Like I've said, I think the team was in disarray and playing with all sorts of different lineups all season has an impact, whether people want to admit it or not. You need to know other player's instincts, communication, have chemistry, etc.

[Saberestar]

Former Brooklyn Nets guard Edmond Sumner has drawn exploratory interest from the Hornets, Bucks, Raptors, Heat, and Suns since becoming a free agent, league sources told HoopsHype.

Interesting player.

[enigmatics]

That particular play was blown out of proportion as he was out of bounds on the other side of the basket. All he could have done is foul Jokic. Had he tried to jump to get the ball he would have either hit his head on the rim or jumped right into Jokic.

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

[SkyBill40]

Ayton truly needs to shut up and dribble... shoot... pass... rebound.. and DUNK. That's it. Nothing more. He simply needs to show why he was worth the first overall pick in the draft because six years in, he looks more like a late lotto pick than anything else if even that.

Show and prove, dude. This is the last opportunity for you.

[bigfoot]

Now that I’ve seen that interview it’s clear DA needs a sports psychologist, if not a regular one too. Dude is playing the victim and is reflective of this site, claiming honest criticism is hate. This is sports at the highest level … nature of the beast. The coddling is over bro, you are 5 years in.

Hes looking for whatever it is to unlock??? Wtf? How bout unlocking some effort?

Jones tried his best to spin it positive, but that was a mopey downer display of me me me over the fact that this may be the best team DA has ever been a part of and a clear contender. He should be jacked.

How different would it be if DeWaaWaandre said ‘im getting ready to ball with these guys and look forward to doing whatever coachV wants and needs to win it all’. F, anything positive over this clueless crydown would have been welcomed. This should be concerning to even the DA buttlovers here

I dont think he gives a rat’s rear about a championship. Doesnt seem to be a priority for
Mr SecondContract.

Honestly, this dude should just stfu and let his play speak. He has done himself no favors with the microphone. Somebody better straighten him out else hes prime to become a locker room liabilty.


Echoing enigs here, but had to spout. Hate to think this years run is contingent on an engaged DA

Fortunately I think owner, GM, and coach will be in lockstep. If DA is a detriment to the team, which would impact the Booker/Durant/Beal chip window, he's probably sent home very early in the season. Wishbia likely has a low tolerance for slackers and doesn't seem to mind losing a few bucks here and there if the end result is winning.

[Frank Lee]

DA likely is embarrassed and butthurt from the talking heads moreso than fans. Almost to a man across the phnx radio/tv Suns talkers they bang on his lack of effort and general slackerness. Even the national shows question his drive.


We say it here, but he hears it loudly there.


Quacks like a duck?

And he whimpers like a pup in his first summertime interview????

[lilfishi22]

Everyone wants exactly this!

I would love to see him add a top of the key 3-point shot. He's worked on it for years but hasn't gotten there. If he could be a consistent threat from there, it would really open up our offense.

I'm not even going to hope he adds a dribble game, because that would require bending his GD knees which it sure seems he can't do.

I say all that, and yet I still consider myself a DA fan. I hate being a part of the criticism, because, clearly, it's not helping him. I hope he knows that his bandwagon is sitting in the station, fueled up and ready to go. All it would take is a few good games in a row to get it going. Give us a good season and we'll all be on board, bro!

Rebound and defend I want no time spent on a 3 point shot, never going to shoot it enough for it to matter, spend that time on ball handling it will make a significant difference in his game vs a 3 almost none. Unless the Suns decide the want him taking 5 or 6 threes a game, which will never happen.

At this point, it would be easier to add a 3 than adding NBA level ball handling.

[sunskerr]

I dont even care anymore just get 10+ rebounds and over 1 blk per game, box out, bring some effort and we'll be cool.

Not a high bar for $30m or whatever he's on.

[Frank Lee]

I dont even care anymore just get 10+ rebounds and over 1 blk per game, box out, bring some effort and we'll be cool.

Not a high bar for $30m or whatever he's on.

Simple as that

And may be sprint down court every once in a while. I’d love to have D’Ant coach this bunch just to see what Ayton does on a fast pace team. Supposedly we are going to push it and run unshackled from GrandPaul. Could be fun for DA. I saw him sprint once (literally) and he’s fn fast. Low expectations and we won’t be disappointed. He’s important but not vital.

[Qwigglez]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

[garrick]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

Booker didn't even try to go for the ball here either but the DA haters will always pick on DA with some irrational hate for some reason.

DA could have played better sure but that wouldn't have been enough to beat Denver since our team post KD trade was super flawed. Continuing to place the entirety of the blame on DA like some of you guys are the type of comments DA was probably referring to.

Look on Reddit, FB and twitter and you see the same kind of poor basketball takes you see here on realgm.

[sunsbum]

That particular play was blown out of proportion as he was out of bounds on the other side of the basket. All he could have done is foul Jokic. Had he tried to jump to get the ball he would have either hit his head on the rim or jumped right into Jokic.

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

Hit his head on the rim????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? I've seen it all now.. well I always say that and then another goofy Ayton excuse comes up.

[sunsbum]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

The funny thing is, we don't pile on him for this one play, you can basketballsplain us all away as much as you want. Fact is this is a constant theme that's seen not exclusive to this board. Even facebook casuals see how low energy this dude can be.

[sunsbum]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

Booker didn't even try to go for the ball here either but the DA haters will always pick on DA with some irrational hate for some reason.

DA could have played better sure but that wouldn't have been enough to beat Denver since our team post KD trade was super flawed. Continuing to place the entirety of the blame on DA like some of you guys are the type of comments DA was probably referring to.

Look on Reddit, FB and twitter and you see the same kind of poor basketball takes you see here on realgm.

If you see these "poor basketball takes" everywhere do you ever wonder if they aren't? Booker brings his ****, its just a bad look to even bring him into the convo.

[KdoubleDees23]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

The funny thing is, we don't pile on him for this one play, you can basketballsplain us all away as much as you want. Fact is this is a constant theme that's seen not exclusive to this board. Even facebook casuals see how low energy this dude can be.

Didn't he have 3 fouls already at this point? That was what I thought.

[SlovenianDragon]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

The funny thing is, we don't pile on him for this one play, you can basketballsplain us all away as much as you want. Fact is this is a constant theme that's seen not exclusive to this board. Even facebook casuals see how low energy this dude can be.

Exactly its not just this one play.... There are soooooooooooo many throughout the season and playoffs that arent put on youtube... People use it as an example because its the one uploaded to the internet...

Cant believe someone could type that whole thing up defending one single play without thinking that there are a million more...If they get uploaded to the internet are u gunna try and defend them all?

[sunsbum]

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

The funny thing is, we don't pile on him for this one play, you can basketballsplain us all away as much as you want. Fact is this is a constant theme that's seen not exclusive to this board. Even facebook casuals see how low energy this dude can be.

Didn't he have 3 fouls already at this point? That was what I thought.

Lord have mercy. I wouldnt let 4 fouls stop me from chasing a rebound, its not like this guy is dennis rodman tangling dudes up on his way for his 17th rebound.

[Sunlight]

Respectfully this response is hard to even fathom.

He literally watched for 3+ seconds. Hitting his head on the backboard is not something dude should be worrying about - he should be running his ass over there even if it's to box out and at least TRY to make Jokic's life just a little harder. That's called efforting, especially considering it was the darn playoffs, not the regular season - the playoffs.

The sequence is virtually indefensible. Dude overplayed the weakside help and literally drifted off into basketball ether because IMO either he didn't really care, he was gassed (which has been happening a lot if you watch him), or both.

Read on Twitter

This play is the go-to for anyone complaining about Ayton's effort. Anyone that has played a lick of basketball understands Ayton's assignment after the PnR was to defend Bruce Brown attacking the basket and he did that. His job isn't to grab the rebound anymore unless it went in his direction. The ball is literally on the other side of the rim. This is obviously a go-to play for the Nuggets since it is a difficult play to guard since it involves a PG attacking the basket which results in a switch (Ayton on Brown) but the contingency plan for the Nuggets is if Brown misses is that Jokic is rebounding on his switch (Chris Paul on Jokic).

Just for a bit more context... this play happened in Game 1. The reason I bring up Game 1 is the players might have to get acclimated to the high altitude, also mention it because of scouting reports. A few minutes previous CP3 got hit with his 2nd foul on rookie Braun. CP3 does a poor job of trying to through the Jokic screen, but perhaps CP3 should have went under the screen since it was unlikely that Brown would settle for a 3P shot since his #s for the 5 games against the Wolves in the playoffs for 3's was shooting 21% (36% for the season overall). Brown could have possibly taken the mid-range shot since he just hit one earlier, but from that angle it is unlikely Brown would have taken the mid-range shot as well. It was obvious he was going to fully commit to attacking the basket.

Craig was guarding Jamal Murray but still attempted to swipe at the driving attack of Brown. Correct maneuver here.

Kevin Durant probably could have sagged even further in the paint since he was guarding Jeff Green and Jeff Green was also shooting 20% from 3 in the playoffs so far at that point. Devin Booker was guarding Braun a 21 year old rookie who does not take many shots and is only in for a defensive assignment to get CP3 to work hard on bringing the ball up the court. Booker doesn't even jump or do anything when Bruce Brown drives.

So all in all, Ayton cannot be in two places at once. He either lets Brown go by him and hope CP3 recovers and to possibly make that shot more difficult for Bruce Brown. Or Ayton does what he was supposed to do and step up and shift his defensive assignment onto Brown and hope everyone else shifts their defensive assignment correctly as well. This is a difficult play to guard as mentioned before which is why the Nuggets ran it, but it doesn't help when the effort of everyone (not just Ayton) isn't there. I would say KD gave an effort though.

Booker didn't even try to go for the ball here either but the DA haters will always pick on DA with some irrational hate for some reason.

DA could have played better sure but that wouldn't have been enough to beat Denver since our team post KD trade was super flawed. Continuing to place the entirety of the blame on DA like some of you guys are the type of comments DA was probably referring to.

Look on Reddit, FB and twitter and you see the same kind of poor basketball takes you see here on realgm.

Moronty's Army just mad because DA still in here like JJ told us last summer(2022) that DA is a big part of this team on the future. Now they realize that when Moronty is gone, CP3 is gone, role players Mikal and CamJ are gone. It´s a shock for them. JJ knows that u need a great big man to win title(Giannis, Jokic, AD, Draymond etc.) He hired Vogel to develop DA's game because hopeless Moronty alias Mr Freeze just did all his best keep DA as cold as a possible. In some games where DA start getting hot he took him out immediately. That hate between Moronty and DA was just sad. On the other hand, it just convinced JJ that changing the head coach and trade the sauna friend CP3 is the only chance to keep the Suns fighting for the championship in the near future. DA haters never post any clips when Jrue humiliate Booker and Suns lost the Finals because of that but one rebound situation in middle of the game is the most important to post every day. Maybe it will help to get over the disappointments of the last three years. Where was the top defender Mikal when Luka beat the Suns last year. Nowhere. A roleplayer is a roleplayer. And now he is gone because of that.

[SlovenianDragon]

I dont get some DA supporters... I want to see DA succeed more than you do. You seem comfortable just the way he is...I want to see him untap that potential I know hes got. Go beast mode and fight on both ends of the court...

The argument about Aytons worth ethic and mental didn't just fall out of the sky... Yall act like its some random hate that stems from nothing...

Ive supported Ayton since we drafted him. I still to this day argue i would take him over Doncic.

I watch every suns game. And from the time we drafted him til now my opinion has changed over time.

I went from over the moon about drafting him to hoping he would improve to hoping next years the year to being critical of his motor and effort.

The tools and potential are still there. I m still hoping next year is the year... But the hope is running thin.

Being critical of a player you want to see succeed is not hate.

Alot of us are just giving you our honest opinions on DA from what we have seen.

And If Ayton changes his tune and plays hard no1 will be happier than us.

You dont have the privilege of saying just wait and see what he can do next season he will prove u all wrong!

Because if he does get his head in the game and play well... Thats exactly what I wanted.

And if he plays with piss poor effort again... Well I dont want to be right about that either...

Dude 100% needs to get his ish together and every1 on every side of the DA argument should agree on that.

<3