Ayton’s Blocks

[1Sun]

IMO he didn’t forget how. It’s how he is being played. He has shown glimpses and I have seen him alter a ton of shots that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Let’s face it, this coach isn’t exactly putting this roster in the best places to succeed.

Bingo.

 

[Covert Rain]

Man I’m seeing a lot of excuses.

I don’t call calling out the coach of this team an excuse. What aspect of his coaching would indicate he is putting this team in a position to succeed?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I don’t call calling out the coach of this team an excuse. What aspect of his coaching would indicate he is putting this team in a position to succeed?

Ayton has lots of opportunities to swat shots. He hasn’t. And you’re talking about the coaching. Excuses.

 

[1Sun]

Ayton has lots of opportunities to swat shots. He hasn’t. And you’re talking about the coaching. Excuses.

Kind of hard to be aggressive on the boards while being taught by a coach whose approach is about as passive as it gets.

 

[GatorAZ]

Make that 11. He heard us!

 

[BC867]

Ayton has lots of opportunities to swat shots. He hasn’t. And you’re talking about the coaching. Excuses.

Without a Power Forward, Ayton is our only protection in the paint. And he was picking up foul after foul. That is putting him behind the 8-ball. And you're blaming it on the rookie?

I don't think so!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Without a Power Forward, Ayton is our only protection in the paint. And he was picking up foul after foul. That is putting him behind the 8-ball. And you're blaming it on the rookie?

I don't think so!

Lol, what exactly are you saying I’m “blaming” on Ayton? I’m pointing out facts. He doesn’t block many shots. He’s a tremendous physical specimen with incredible athleticism and in 17 games he’s blocked 11 shots. Unless he is literally being told “don’t block shots” I guess I’m blaming his lack of blocked shots on him. Who else should I blame it on? Sarver?

 

[1tinsoldier]

the way i see it
Ayton is SOFT (there, i said it)
and the coach is SOFT

one of them is young enough to grow a pair

 

[1Sun]

Our current head coach:

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[elindholm]

the way i see it
Ayton is SOFT (there, i said it)
and the coach is SOFT

one of them is young enough to grow a pair

True. Ayton is definitely soft so far. I don't think he'll stay soft forever, but who knows.

The Suns have no toughness beyond Holmes, sort of Bridges, and I guess Crawford. Warren and Booker can make big shots, but they are soft. Jackson plays with a certain energy, but he is soft. Ariza is a fraud, and everyone else is just plain bad.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

True. Ayton is definitely soft so far. I don't think he'll stay soft forever, but who knows.

The Suns have no toughness beyond Holmes, sort of Bridges, and I guess Crawford. Warren and Booker can make big shots, but they are soft. Jackson plays with a certain energy, but he is soft. Ariza is a fraud, and everyone else is just plain bad.

I don’t think ariza is a fraud. I just think he is who he is. A fifth option that can thrive when he’s in the floor with superstars. As much as we want booker to be that, he’s obviously not. And Ayton might eventually be, but it’s looking like it’s going to take longer than most expected for that to occur.

Otherwise, yeah I think our team is soft. We don’t foul hard. We don’t dig to get defensive stops. And we only win if our outside shots are falling. We don’t spend much time at the charity stripe which is an indictment of our lack of aggressive play. I hate to say it, but even with our first center ever . . . same old soft suns.

 

[1Sun]

I don’t think ariza is a fraud. I just think he is who he is. A fifth option that can thrive when he’s in the floor with superstars. As much as we want booker to be that, he’s obviously not. And Ayton might eventually be, but it’s looking like it’s going to take longer than most expected for that to occur.

Otherwise, yeah I think our team is soft. We don’t foul hard. We don’t dig to get defensive stops. And we only win if our outside shots are falling. We don’t spend much time at the charity stripe which is an indictment of our lack of aggressive play. I hate to say it, but even with our first center ever . . . same old soft suns.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but things have become so bad and hopeless that I at least have to offer it up for discussion and consideration:

Are we at the point that Sarver just needs to roll the dice and bring in Charles Barkley to be GM and head coach? He would at least make things entertaining and would light a fire under the players, even if he lacks overall competence and intelligence. This team has become a dud to watch, and the future looks less and less promising with each minute we have no GM and Kokoskov as head coach.

 

[Mainstreet]

Even the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is tougher than the Suns.

Spoiler

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[Folster]

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but things have become so bad and hopeless that I at least have to offer it up for discussion and consideration:

Are we at the point that Sarver just needs to roll the dice and bring in Charles Barkley to be GM and head coach? He would at least make things entertaining and would light a fire under the players, even if he lacks overall competence and intelligence. This team has become a dud to watch, and the future looks less and less promising with each minute we have no GM and Kokoskov as head coach.

Barkley is lazy and doesn't know as much as he thinks he does.

 

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns are going to roll the dice, try to bring in Steve Nash as the GM.

I doubt if he would want to be a head coach but who knows for sure.

 

[1Sun]

If the Suns are going to roll the dice, try to bring in Steve Nash as the GM.

I doubt if he would want to be a head coach but who knows for sure.

Nash has indicated he wants no part of this, and I can't say that I blame him. Barkley has at least indicated he would consider it.

 

[Cheesebeef]

the amount of excuses why Ayton can't hardly be bothered to play an defense down low is becoming laughable at this point.

the dude needs to get his ass kicked or mocked unmercifully at this point... seemingly needs to be shamed into playing D. I don't know if it has to come from a coach, a player on his own team or someone else because the tools are there, but the effort is nowhere to be found.

man this sucks... this team feels so completely hopeless.

 

[Superbone]

the amount of excuses why Ayton can't hardly be bothered to play an defense down low is becoming laughable at this point.

the dude needs to get his ass kicked or mocked unmercifully at this point... seemingly needs to be shamed into playing D. I don't know if it has to come from a coach, a player on his own team or someone else because the tools are there, but the effort is nowhere to be found.

man this sucks... this team feels so completely hopeless.

Is this the same guy that said he was going to lose his poo if we didn’t draft Ayton number one?

 

[Covert Rain]

Ayton has lots of opportunities to swat shots. He hasn’t. And you’re talking about the coaching. Excuses.

No doubt that some of it's on him. However, we also know how much coaching can impact a teams ability to defend. So yes, I am talking about coaching. That's a fact. Not an excuse...*cough*...D'Antoni...*cough*.

There are some positives. He is #1 in the NBA among rookies in defensive rebounding, #9 in Blocking (yes not great but top 10), #14 Steals and getting 31% of the teams blocks by himself which among players getting 30 minutes is second to only TJ Warren, #2 in scoring. #1 in FGM, #10 in FG%, #5 in FTM, #1 Total Reb, tied for #1 in Assists.

https://stats.nba.com/players/traditional/?DateFrom=11/21/2018&DateTo=11/21/2018&sort=BLK&dir=-1&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular Season&PlayerExperience=Rookie

Should he be doing better? Sure we agree. Does he seem to be behind some other HOF Centers? OK. However, it's not time to jump off the cliff for Ayton for Gods sake. We are 14 games into an 82 Game season (17% of the total games he will play this season).

THIS ENTIRE TEAM is horrible at defense (#29 in the NBA). It's not just an Ayton thing. You know where if falls off a cliff for Ayton? Opponent Points in the Paint. He is #68 in the NBA.

Yeah....coaching is just an excuse.

There are multiple players on this team that need to personally step up but Ayton is a freaking rookie. I am more concerned about Booker going to the next level at this point than Ayton. I am more concerned about the craptastic coaching than Ayton.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

No doubt that some of it's on him. However, we also know how much coaching can impact a teams ability to defend. So yes, I am talking about coaching. That's a fact. Not an excuse...*cough*...D'Antoni...*cough*.

There are some positives. He is #1 in the NBA among rookies in defensive rebounding, #9 in Blocking (yes not great but top 10), #14 Steals and getting 31% of the teams blocks by himself which among players getting 30 minutes is second to only TJ Warren, #2 in scoring. #1 in FGM, #10 in FG%, #5 in FTM, #1 Total Reb, tied for #1 in Assists.

https://stats.nba.com/players/traditional/?DateFrom=11/21/2018&DateTo=11/21/2018&sort=BLK&dir=-1&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular Season&PlayerExperience=Rookie

Should he be doing better? Sure we agree. Does he seem to be behind some other HOF Centers? OK. However, it's not time to jump off the cliff for Ayton for Gods sake. We are 14 games into an 82 Game season (17% of the total games he will play this season).

THIS ENTIRE TEAM is horrible at defense (#29 in the NBA). It's not just an Ayton thing. You know where if falls off a cliff for Ayton? Opponent Points in the Paint. He is #68 in the NBA.

Yeah....coaching is just an excuse.

There are multiple players on this team that need to personally step up but Ayton is a freaking rookie. I am more concerned about Booker going to the next level at this point than Ayton. I am more concerned about the craptastic coaching than Ayton.

As I’ve said a million times in this and other threads, just pointing out facts man, just pointing out facts.

And are you really using #9 amongst rookies as a positive??? How many rookies are there? How many are getting 32 mins per game. Cmon man. That’s an ugly ranking.

 

[Mainstreet]

There is more wrong with the Suns than a 20 year old rookie center. Ayton is not a finished product. A lot of great centers were not even playing at his age.

Maybe Ayton will not turn out to be a mega star or a defensive stalwart but it is too early to know. He should be a great offensive center who can rebound... a player the Suns can build around.

The Suns are paying a price for bad drafting over a number of years and their inability to attract quality free agents. It's a story every Suns fan knows too well.

 

[SirStefan32]

This is what happens when people have unrealistic expectations. I think people were so high on Ayton that they thought he would legitimately look like a 23 year-old David Robinson. Anyone who watched Ayton in college could see that he wasn't a rim protector. Everyone could see he had no "nasty" in him. I think my expectations were pretty realistic, and Ayton is exceeding them regularly. His one on one defense is actually quite good, his offensive game is more complete than I expected, he is a far better passer and rebounder than I thought he would be, and he is a lot smarter than I thought he would be.

Nastiness and rim protection were never his things. I watch for flashes once in a while. He had two nasty dunks last night, and he went after a few blocks. He only blocked one, but he went after a few. He strikes me as a very smart kid who wants to get better. I hope he becomes better at these areas, and I see no reason to believe he won't. Important part is to be realistic and patient. He is a very young kid, far more developed than most seven-footers his age.

 

[Covert Rain]

As I’ve said a million times in this and other threads, just pointing out facts man, just pointing out facts.

And are you really using #9 amongst rookies as a positive??? How many rookies are there? How many are getting 32 mins per game. Cmon man. That’s an ugly ranking.

You mean like the team overall ranking in defense and the abysmal coaching?

 

[BC867]

Lol, what exactly are you saying I’m “blaming” on Ayton? I’m pointing out facts. He doesn’t block many shots. He’s a tremendous physical specimen with incredible athleticism and in 17 games he’s blocked 11 shots. Unless he is literally being told “don’t block shots” I guess I’m blaming his lack of blocked shots on him. Who else should I blame it on? Sarver?

OK, I'll say it another way. He has been trying to avoid fouls until he gets more established. The refs have certainly not given him any respect.

 

[Hoop Head]

OK, I'll say it another way. He has been trying to avoid fouls until he gets more established. The refs have certainly not given him any respect.

That would make sense if he accumulated a ton of fouls in his first couple games, so he became leery of picking them up going forward. That hasn't happened though. He's been in foul trouble in 2, maybe 3 games, and it hasn't been out of the ordinary either. They're dumb fouls, not close calls the ref decided to hit him with. I just looked it up and he's only been in real foul trouble twice, against Denver & Jokic and against Philly & Embiid. Those were the two games I was thinking of and with how his man was able to score at will it's not surprising that he was in foul trouble because both of those guys went at him hard. Outside of those 2 games he's had 4 games where he picked up 4 fouls but it doesn't seem to have hurt his minutes and I don't recall him sitting for any unusual stretches because of foul trouble.

Why are you covering for him? He's not a threat to block shots right now. That's something he needs to work on. He won't suddenly start swatting shots away when the refs give him more leeway. He'll need a few summers of working on his timing to become a good shot blocker. Right now he's below average, at best, and that's probably the nicest way to describe his shot blocking prowess or lack thereof.