Ayton's Development at the Quarter Mark of 2018-2019 Season

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Really? I haven't seen hardly anyone here pining for Doncic over Ayton and saying it was the wrong choice.

in fact, I think it's kind of the opposite. What I see more than anything are the people who were Ayton's biggest supporters banging on both him for being passive and Koko for marooning him outside the offense.

I think he pointed out that it’s prevalent on other boards but not this one.

 

[ArizonaSportsFan]

Really? I haven't seen hardly anyone here pining for Doncic over Ayton and saying it was the wrong choice.

He mentioned other forums. I agree with you about this one. And I don't mind people questioning the coaches or players and certainly not the FO. I just happen to think that coach is doing fine with what he has. I could be convinced that he is in over head, but I am not ready to go there.

 

[1Sun]

Here's the way I look at it, even if it is a little simplistic.

The success of Igor's offense has always been dependent on the play of the point guard and the big men have always been secondary, or even third on the pecking order. Igor has the exact opposite kind of roster he's used to, whether that's for his asst coaching days or his national team days. I would almost guarantee we would see IMMEDIATE dividends if we acquired a point guard with some inherent NBA skill. You can see it coming out of Point Book. Problem there is that he's a natural SG and will never be totally comfortable in that spot.

I'm not saying we'd be an automatic playoff team with an established point guard, but I think we would see a big difference with the product on the court, pretty much with EVERY player.

The offense itself is dependent on something we don't have. Now the problem is adjustments. Igor is learning, as evidenced by his starting lineup changes and the release of Canaan/trade of Chandler. However, he needs to go another step further and change the fundamentals of his offense to fit his personnel. I think it's painfully obvious that he doesn't know how to do that yet. In today's NBA, you can't adapt the personnel to the offense, you have to adapt the offense to the personnel. It's no secret most NBA players from bottom to top are usually pretty one-dimensional.

Uh, weren't you one of the posters on this board who insisted we would be fine without an NBA level point guard because Igor's offense didn't really need one?

And if Igor doesn't know how to adapt his offense to fit his personnel, he has no business coaching in the NBA and is indeed in over his head.

 

[Superbone]

The Mavericks have a much more complete team than we do. They should be better. Most pundits knew this before the season even started.

 

[Chaplin]

Uh, weren't you one of the posters on this board who insisted we would be fine without an NBA level point guard because Igor's offense didn't really need one?

And if Igor doesn't know how to adapt his offense to fit his personnel, he has no business coaching in the NBA and is indeed in over his head.

Pretty sure nobody said we'd be "fine" without an NBA level point guard, let alone me. Igor has proven me wrong about the offense, mostly because he hasn't adapted to the personnel he has. But he is moving in the right direction.

Then again, I'm wondering if you've sent your resume in because you seem to know everything there is to know about the NBA.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Mavericks have a much more complete team than we do. They should be better. Most pundits knew this before the season even started.

Yes and they are also being coached better. Not that I'm knocking Koko as it should be no surprise that one of the best Head Coaches in the game is out-coaching a rookie.

 

[Chaplin]

At least there's this:

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[BC867]

It's great! He is big and agile. We all remember saying that Len should get 10 rebounds by default because he was the biggest guy on the court. Well, our current big guy gets 10 without even trying that much. I will assume that you have watched the games. From my vantage point on my couch, he could average 10 more points per game with some tenacity. And 4 more rebounds per game just by trying on the defensive end. I do notice that he gets tired quite quickly, so perhaps that has something to do with it.
I am not complaining about Ayton, at all. All I am saying is that a change to the scheme will most likely not change much and may make it worse. But I have never coached basketball so my observations are just simply that.

The highlighted is an excellent point. Ayton is adjusting to the grind of a weekly NBA schedule and will be adjusting to the length of it as well, as do all rookies.

Just like jet lag, it is an adjustment. It is amazing how some are comparing his first couple of months to full seasons of past Suns big men. The only fair comparison would be to their first couple of months. And, even then, you have to take coaching into account.

 

[Chaplin]

He's also getting close to playing the most games in the shortest period of time ever in his life. High school plays around 26 games in a whole season, while college hovers around 30 give or take because of the tournaments. And never more than 2 in a single week. In the NBA, he could play as many as 5 or 6 in a week.

 

[BC867]

He's also getting close to playing the most games in the shortest period of time ever in his life. High school plays around 26 games in a whole season, while college hovers around 30 give or take because of the tournaments. And never more than 2 in a single week. In the NBA, he could play as many as 5 or 6 in a week.

And that also applies to the overwhelming amount of youngsters in our rotation.

As an aside, drafting two Power Forwards in the same draft didn't prepare either of them to build endurance for full seasons.

The Front Office and Coaching Staff (and its turnovers of personnel) haven't seemed to be skilled in looking at the big picture.

 

[Chaplin]

And that also applies to the overwhelming amount of youngsters in our rotation.

As an aside, drafting two Power Forwards in the same draft didn't prepare either of them to build endurance for full seasons.

The Front Office and Coaching Staff (and its turnovers of personnel) haven't seemed to be skilled in looking at the big picture.

We don't agree on much, but your last sentence is spot on. Can't tank if you don't know how to actually tank.

I don't mind the urgency of wanting to win this past summer, but the problem is that McD's previous tanking moves weren't very good and not conducive to the long term big picture, as you say. Heck, Trevor Ariza wasn't brought in to help the team win--at least that's not the reason we have him now.

 

[Raindog]

That the Suns are throwing away $35 million on Ariza and Anderson this season is nausea inducing.

 

[Chaplin]

That the Suns are throwing away $35 million on Ariza and Anderson this season is nausea inducing.

Either that or throwing $35 million on Ariza, Knight and Chriss.

 

[95pro]

Kind of seems like Knight and Chriss could have helped us this season, disregarding injuries.

 

[Chaplin]

Kind of seems like Knight and Chriss could have helped us this season, disregarding injuries.

Well, disagree. Not only because you can't disregard injuries, but also because both of them stink.

 

[Hoop Head]

Well, disagree. Not only because you can't disregard injuries, but also because both of them stink.

At least Knight thinks he's a PG. I'm not sure Canaan did.

 

[Superbone]

That the Suns are throwing away $35 million on Ariza and Anderson this season is nausea inducing.

The Anderson trade is a wash. The $15 mil on Ariza alone is the issue.

 

[Superbone]

At least Knight thinks he's a PG. I'm not sure Canaan did.

Doesn't matter. Knight hasn't played a minute.

 

[1Sun]

The Anderson trade is a wash. The $15 mil on Ariza alone is the issue.

Just remember whose top free agent target Ariza was...

 

[NashDishesDimes]

When j first saw arizas signing i thought it was laughable, but i actually somewhat like it.

In theory, it was going to help them win games. Most importantly, he is the exact type of guy Josh Jackson should be watching, bridges, and even TJ to some degree. Lastly, a large contract 1 year deal is a great trade chip to a contender. It also showed a commitment to Book that theyre at least trying to win.

 

[95pro]

The Anderson trade is a wash. The $15 mil on Ariza alone is the issue.

Doesn't matter. Knight hasn't played a minute.

He's about ready to suit up, but I'm not sure how he'll crack the rotation. We are in such a bad state that Knight is better than who we shipped out, and probably better than Okobo and Melton right now. Okobo in the long run might be better though but not anytime soon.

 

[1Sun]

When j first saw arizas signing i thought it was laughable, but i actually somewhat like it.

In theory, it was going to help them win games. Most importantly, he is the exact type of guy Josh Jackson should be watching, bridges, and even TJ to some degree. Lastly, a large contract 1 year deal is a great trade chip to a contender. It also showed a commitment to Book that theyre at least trying to win.

And then Ariza came in and did his best impersonation of Eric Bledsoe circa 2017.

 

[Superbone]

He's about ready to suit up, but I'm not sure how he'll crack the rotation. We are in such a bad state that Knight is better than who we shipped out, and probably better than Okobo and Melton right now. Okobo in the long run might be better though but not anytime soon.

It will be interesting to see how Knight looks if he plays.

 

[TJ]

Ayton will be fine in the long run. Personally, if he had a game in which he played 15 min and fouled out playing hard, I’d be happy. Dude needs an injection of energy.

 

[SirStefan32]

He needs a DNP-CD. Start Bender in his place. See if that embarrasses him enough to pull his head out of his behind.