Deandre Ayton news and discussion

Mulhollanddrive · Post #721 » by **Mulhollanddrive** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:25 pm

DA does tend to go in 3-4 game runs where he takes the game on only to revert back, but I am hopeful that fatherhood has helped him step up in responsibility and aggression where he has outgrown being the young buck of the group.

He has a go to move now down low which every big man needs, he has backed down bigger centre like Vucevic. So there's no turning back especially now that we are all in on him playing 35-40 minutes in playoffs.

Looking forward to whether he's ready to show Baynes he's willing to dominate position in the paint.

Revived · Post #722 » by **Revived** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:57 pm

lilfishi22 wrote:I don't understand why we don't play Frank when Saric is playing like crap and Ayton had played like 34min in two B2B games.

Or even Jalen Smith. Is he absolutely disastrous in practice or something? I hate that his only mins are with Carter or sometimes with Payne.

I think they need to give him some run with CP3. I know there’s a world of difference between g league and nba but still, he showed some skill in the g league that can very useful for us if even 25% of it translates.

He was a very good pick and roll threat in college yet whenever he comes into games now, they simply have him standing at the 3pt line the whole time.

CP3 has helped many bigs develop over the course of his career. He can do the same for Jalen if they let the two play at least some mins together.

Bogyo · Post #723 » by **Bogyo** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:20 pm

lilfishi22 wrote:I don't understand why we don't play Frank when Saric is playing like crap and Ayton had played like 34min in two B2B games.

That's coaching issue. We can open a thread for it - but I don't want to be negative nancy all the time.

Monty is a well respected coach, and got us good results this year - but there are things he could also improve on. Or he should if he wants to be a Kerr, not just a Jackson, who was a similarly good coach for the W's before Kerr took them all the way.

Mulhollanddrive · Post #724 » by **Mulhollanddrive** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 5:40 am

These last few games by Ayton have given me so much joy, just doing the big man fundamentals and playing like a star should.

Reminds me of Hakeem-lite with his touch around the rim and paint protection.

Bogyo · Post #725 » by **Bogyo** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:53 am

Mulhollanddrive wrote:These last few games by Ayton have given me so much joy, just doing the big man fundamentals and playing like a star should.

Reminds me of Hakeem-lite with his touch around the rim and paint protection.

Same here - let see the consistency until the end of the season. Effort, urgency, purposeful playing in 9 games out of 10. Should be doable, right? These are things he controlls 100% - but we're all human, so 9 games out of 10 will do for me.

AtheJ415 · Post #726 » by **AtheJ415** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 7:54 am

I don't see much with Frank. He's a lost cause defensively. He played well for a spurt this year but I feel like that's more luck than a true turning of the corner. He was the worst player in basketball for about 1.5 years. Hope I'm wrong, but I would feel a lot better if our emergency big was better. It's a shame Stix is not ready to play minutes yet.

Post #727 » by **bwgood77** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:34 pm

Bogyo wrote:
Mulhollanddrive wrote:These last few games by Ayton have given me so much joy, just doing the big man fundamentals and playing like a star should.

Reminds me of Hakeem-lite with his touch around the rim and paint protection.

Same here - let see the consistency until the end of the season. Effort, urgency, purposeful playing in 9 games out of 10. Should be doable, right? These are things he controlls 100% - but we're all human, so 9 games out of 10 will do for me.

He played well for a long stretch from late January to mid March last year, and was a bit inconsistent in the bubble after the layoff. I am not sure when his kid was born or if that impacted him, but he looks even more focused now, and two of those games before he played well, he had bogus fouls and was in trouble against the TWolves. He played well the last 4 or so games in Feb...you could say last 7 minus one game. People tore him apart a bit too excessively because Harden took advantage of him and then Ball to some extent, but those guys are going to do that to a ton of people, especially against bigs, and Harden against anyone.

Post #728 » by **bwgood77** » Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:36 pm

AtheJ415 wrote:I don't see much with Frank. He's a lost cause defensively. He played well for a spurt this year but I feel like that's more luck than a true turning of the corner. He was the worst player in basketball for about 1.5 years. Hope I'm wrong, but I would feel a lot better if our emergency big was better. It's a shame Stix is not ready to play minutes yet.

He sucks defensively but he is a nice glue offensive guy with the starters just for limited time with the defense of Bridges and Ayton on either side, and then it bolsters the bench if you have Crowder and Cam along with Saric off of it...but with Craig we shouldn't need to play him much..maybe against big teams to start...but I wouldn't play him much.

ImNotMcDiSwear · Post #729 » by **ImNotMcDiSwear** » Sat Mar 27, 2021 7:05 pm

I bet DA wins us a game with a putback or tip-in off a Paul or Booker miss at some point in this year's playoffs.

DA is the most important player on this roster, no doubt in my mind.

Saberestar · Post #730 » by **Saberestar** » Sat Mar 27, 2021 7:32 pm

After those dissapointing games against the Wolves he has played great. In the last four games (3W-1L) he averages 20.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and he has improved his shooting percentages (71% FG) and his FTA (93% on 3.5 attempts per game).

All of that playing very good defense and giving consistent effort on both sides.
The Ayton from these four games deserves a max contract.

TouchPassDario · Post #731 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:34 am

ImNotMcDiSwear wrote:I bet DA wins us a game with a putback or tip-in off a Paul or Booker miss at some point in this year's playoffs.

DA is the most important player on this roster, no doubt in my mind.

I still think it’s Paul. He is such a steadying force.

But I like the cut of your jib. Ayton is easily more important for us than Booker. I wonder if he ever eclipses Booker for the 99% casual fans in this market. Probably not even if he wins like 2 FMVP. It’s akin to Kobe fans in LA thinking he’s >>> Shaq on a smaller scale obv.

TouchPassDario · Post #732 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:35 am

Saberestar wrote:After those dissapointing games against the Wolves he has played great. In the last four games (3W-1L) he averages 20.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and he has improved his shooting percentages (71% FG) and his FTA (93% on 3.5 attempts per game).

All of that playing very good defense and giving consistent effort on both sides.
The Ayton from these four games deserves a max contract.

Ayton up to 13th in Win Shares, ahead of Trae and Luka.

His body of work, Everest-level highs, age, and a million other obvious attributes make him a max guy. Not four games lol.

TouchPassDario · Post #733 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:38 am

He’s better than Bam was last year (Bam’s age 22 year) Looking forward to him playing well in the playoffs. It will open things up so much more for our shooters.

TouchPassDario · Post #734 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:39 am

Zion and mayyyyyybe Luka the only better assets under 23.

Post #735 » by **lilfishi22** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:32 am

TouchPassDario wrote:Zion and mayyyyyybe Luka the only better assets under 23.

Ja? Tatum? Trae?

No way Ayton is more valuable than these guys.

TouchPassDario · Post #736 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:05 pm

lilfishi22 wrote:
TouchPassDario wrote:Zion and mayyyyyybe Luka the only better assets under 23.

Ja? Tatum? Trae?

No way Ayton is more valuable than these guys.

Ayton > Ja and Trae

Ever watch Ja play defense? He has....problems...with navigating screens, which KINDA MATTERS for playoff basketball.

Ja is The Glove compared to Trae.

Tatum has big regressed this year.

Nah, Ayton >

TouchPassDario · Post #737 » by **TouchPassDario** » Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:07 pm

Tatum is a 56% TS not super high vol guy that doesn’t really create and isn’t elite at D. He’s not Ayton’s tier imo. But I put stock in highly efficient reproducible offense and multi positional defense with excellent rim protection. Ya know, after elite volume scoring/creation the most important traits for winning in the playoffs.

Post #738 » by **bwgood77** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:14 pm

I'd consider Zion too. I can't imagine Ayton doing this in the next year:

Zion Williamson finished the week with a fury. He bested his previous career high of 36 points in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. He finished with 39 points in a loss to the Nuggets on Friday before going off for 38 points against the Mavericks in a victory the following night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Williamson joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Dantley, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Scottie Pippen and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only players to have at least 75 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting at least 70% from the field in a two-game span.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31147848/nba-power-rankings-how-trade-deadline-buyout-market-shake-league-hierarchy

Bogyo · Post #739 » by **Bogyo** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 6:28 pm

bwgood77 wrote:I'd consider Zion too. I can't imagine Ayton doing this in the next year:

Zion Williamson finished the week with a fury. He bested his previous career high of 36 points in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. He finished with 39 points in a loss to the Nuggets on Friday before going off for 38 points against the Mavericks in a victory the following night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Williamson joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Dantley, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Scottie Pippen and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only players to have at least 75 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting at least 70% from the field in a two-game span.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31147848/nba-power-rankings-how-trade-deadline-buyout-market-shake-league-hierarchy

By the looks yes it could be argued, but I think he is a bit too much bullyball for my taste, and not enough basketball. Kinda like Orlando Shaq - but that turned out good eventually, even if not in Orlando. That being said, I'd be very reluctant to take Zion in any scenario, I have no trust whatsoever in his body holding up. Every time I see him do a spin move I think his knees will blow. Or his ankle... Or read next day that his lower back is aching... I'd bet he will not have a long career, sadly, so in that regard I have to say that I'd be very 50-50 on taking either.

(See, I don't "hate" Ayton, I just have a bit more in depth thoughts about him than you could put it in a simple box of "hater" or "fanboy". Same goes for the team, and the GM, the Coach, or pretty much anything in the world that I have more than a bit of knowledge about...)

TouchPassDario · Post #740 » by **TouchPassDario** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 8:37 pm

bwgood77 wrote:I'd consider Zion too. I can't imagine Ayton doing this in the next year:

Zion Williamson finished the week with a fury. He bested his previous career high of 36 points in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. He finished with 39 points in a loss to the Nuggets on Friday before going off for 38 points against the Mavericks in a victory the following night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Williamson joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Dantley, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Scottie Pippen and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only players to have at least 75 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting at least 70% from the field in a two-game span.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31147848/nba-power-rankings-how-trade-deadline-buyout-market-shake-league-hierarchy

Zion is easily the best asset under 23.