Kerrsed wrote:Before Ayton even played a single game for the Suns he had haters. There was absolutely no reason to hate him, but people did. Season 1 people complained that he was being very KAT-like, all offense with no effort whatsoever on the defensive end of the floor. Ask anyone who watched him at Arizona and they will tell you that thats not part of his game, he is more offensive minded than anything else.
Season 2 he stepped it up on both ends of the floor, increasing his defensive impact along with offense. He increased his shot attempts, his scoring, his rebounds, and his blocks. People still complained about him being lackadaisical. Complained about his defensive effort.
Season 3. Aytons defense increases even more. Now playing as more of a defensive minded C more than anything. Taking less shots than his previous 2 seasons but hitting them at a great efficiency. Explained in that great interview that he is doing what Coach is asking, dedicating himself more to the defensive end and worrying less about being a focal point on offense because we already got guys that can score the ball with ease. People still arnt happy.
Aytons League Rankings on the season: (https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_leaders.html)
#5 in Offensive Rebounds
#8 in Defensive Rebounds
#9 in Total Rebounds
#11 in Rebounds Per Game
#6 in Total Rebound Pct.
#19 in Blocks
#20 in True Shooting Pct.
#14 in Effective Field Goal Pct.
#14 in Defensive Rating
#8 in Defensive Win Shares
And in almost all of those categories he is the youngest player in the top 20. 150 games into his career and he is ranked a top 20 player in 10 different categories (13 if you also include the individual Offensive/Defensive Rebound Pct that i left out). Yet some people are so incensed to hate and ignore any good that comes from him because he isnt Luka.
So now lets discuss the Luka Aspect. The NBA Golden Boy. The one who was anointed before even stepping foot on an NBA court. Look, we have all seen him play, and yeah, he's pretty damn good, but we have also seen just how much of bullsh*t league this is by seeing all the stuff that the league allows Doncic to get away with. Barely touch him? Thats a foul! He plows into the paint like a bowling ball banging into people, Thats a foul on them! Somehow 90% of the fouls on him are in the act of shooting.....yet when you see the replay the act of shooting occurs way way way after the whistle and sometimes not at all. He gets BEYOND superstar calls....while guys like Booker have to be bleeding to get even just the chance to get a whistle. Ayton too! How many times have we seen Ayton get the ball right under the basket covered by 2 or 3 guys, bring the ball down and it gets stripped? Happens all the time and never (NEVER NEVER NEVER) does he get a whistle. Do you think that its a clean strip everytime? Hell no! Damn near impossible to have 3 defenders all go for the ball and none of them make contact. Ayton haters just go, "Ugh, hands of stone, cant do sh*t". Problem is Ayton doesnt know how to sell the foul (Or more appropriately SHOW that there was contact). He doesnt do the "OMG WTF" arm flail that others do to get the call. But back to Luka, look, if there was no Luka would the Ayton Haters still hate? Highly doubtful. That measuring stick wouldnt be there and without the comparisons all you have is a great super solid young big bursting with talent.
"But Kerrsed, he looks bored on the court, i dont see that fire, i want that fire!". Does that really matter when he is still being super effective? I mean i dont see that aggression or fire when i watch a guy like Kawhi play. Stone faced, not yelling or getting excited over stuffs, just getting the job done. No dramatics like Amare and his chest beating and and one yelling, just efficient and methodical like Tim Duncan.
"But Kerrsed, he his hands suck ass, he constantly turns the ball over and drops passes, hands of stone needs to stop bringing the ball down low!". Under 2 turnovers a game. Yes, despite all the complaints and haters making it sound like he is a TO machine, its less than 2 a game. Yet you look around the league at other leading C's like Embiid, Adebayo, Jokic, Sabonis, Gobert, and they all average around 3 turnovers a game. So dont buy into the hater-hype of Ayton turning the ball over all the time.
Fact is Ayton is doing exactly what we have asked him to do......AND ITS WORKING! He's playing top notch defense and taking less shots while being more efficient with his shots. And we are winning! Boy are we winning! Winning so much that posters cant complain about the team so they have to nitpick things and blow stuff way out of proportion so they can complain about stuff.
It irks the hell out of me that a bad game for Ayton is still close to a double double with solid defense and he gets torn to shreds, but the boards favorite Bridges gets a pass because he was drafted #10. People complain about Ayton not being aggressive but turn a blind eye to Bridges when he only takes 4 shots a game despite his high percentages. A bad Bridges game is 6 points 3 assists, a rebound and a steal......while shooting 50%. Where the fire? Wheres the aggressiveness? Oh, that doesnt matter because of the defense he provides? Funny, Ayton doesnt get that same excuse.
3rd season in the league (6 years after picking up his first basketball). Already headed to being a top C in the league on a competitive and winning basketball team. Haters gonna Hate.
But the haters are going to have to find new angles to hate on because their old ones aren't working or valid!
AMEN - this was spot on, and there will be some haters coming out with red faces.
They already have made up in their mind they hate Ayton. Even if he avg 35/15 they will still have excuses.
If we were 10th place and ayton had 14/12 I could argue to trade him and its not working. But we are 3rd place!!!!!!! Let's go
Keep crying!