Deandre Ayton on Defense

[Phrazbit]

*Shai is an a higher tier if we’re talking right now. What remains to be seen is if he can play this well on the ball since CP3 has been handling those duties...

If only @Mainstreet was our GM when we traded up...

Well, it has been reported that the actual GM at the time was trying to trade up for Shai... but our meddling doofus owner had to do his thing.

It does lessen the sting that, despite some of the rhetoric here, Bridges is a damn good player and has been playing near All-NBA defense for us.

 

[GatorAZ]

Well, it has been reported that the actual GM at the time was trying to trade up for Shai... but our meddling doofus owner got had to do his thing.

It does lessen the sting that, despite some of the rhetoric here, Bridges is a damn good player and has been playing near All-NBA defense for us.

True... If the walls could talk...

 

[Rab]

Defensively he’s been better than last year. I think he’s been better at changing and contesting shots and his individual defense when he gets switched on a wing player has been pretty good. He can move his feet and stay in front well for a big man. His rotational defense hasn’t been great though and I don’t feel he has great instincts in that area and doesn’t anticipate well. He gets caught watching a lot or just doesn’t rotate to the right spot in time.

Overall I’ve been much happier to this point with his defense than I was last year. I think he’ll continue to get better as the season progresses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JCSunsfan]

Defensively he’s been better than last year. I think he’s been better at changing and contesting shots and his individual defense when he gets switched on a wing player has been pretty good. He can move his feet and stay in front well for a big man. His rotational defense hasn’t been great though and I don’t feel he has great instincts in that area and doesn’t anticipate well. He gets caught watching a lot or just doesn’t rotate to the right spot in time.

Overall I’ve been much happier to this point with his defense than I was last year. I think he’ll continue to get better as the season progresses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Deandre's bball IQ is lacking. That can improve. I am pretty convinced that is his main problem. His brain is about a quarter second behind the game happening around him.

And BC, that is not an alabi, its a flaw.

 

[SirStefan32]

Deandre's bball IQ is lacking. That can improve. I am pretty convinced that is his main problem. His brain is about a quarter second behind the game happening around him.

And BC, that is not an alabi, its a flaw.

I mostly agree, but I think I'd use different terminology. I don't think his basketball IQ is lacking. He does a lot of things that are very smart. I think his issue is that he thinks too much and lacks experience. He doesn't do Josh Jackson/ Marquese Chriss stupid stuff. He is a young kid and the game moves just a little too quickly for him. I think the game will slow down. Improvements he's already made on defense give us hope that he'll figure things out.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I mostly agree, but I think I'd use different terminology. I don't think his basketball IQ is lacking. He does a lot of things that are very smart. I think his issue is that he thinks too much and lacks experience. He doesn't do Josh Jackson/ Marquese Chriss stupid stuff. He is a young kid and the game moves just a little too quickly for him. I think the game will slow down. Improvements he's already made on defense give us hope that he'll figure things out.

OK. That is very close to what I was trying to say.

 

[Covert Rain]

I mostly agree, but I think I'd use different terminology. I don't think his basketball IQ is lacking. He does a lot of things that are very smart. I think his issue is that he thinks too much and lacks experience. He doesn't do Josh Jackson/ Marquese Chriss stupid stuff. He is a young kid and the game moves just a little too quickly for him. I think the game will slow down. Improvements he's already made on defense give us hope that he'll figure things out.

I think the kid lacks judgment and instinct. Experience can solve the basketball IQ problem. What worries me is the reverse. If he never develops judgment or instinct you could be the smartest basketball guy on the planet and it won't matter.

 

[SirStefan32]

OK. That is very close to what I was trying to say.

Yeah, we are saying the same thing.

 

[SirStefan32]

I think the kid lacks judgment and instinct. Experience can solve the basketball IQ problem. What worries me is the reverse. If he never develops judgment or instinct you could be the smartest basketball guy on the planet and it won't matter.

That's a great point. Bender is a great example of someone who just has no instinct and overthinks every single move. He is very smart, but it doesn't seem to matter since he just has to think about what to do instead of just doing it. I think repetition will be the key with DA. He just HAS to repeatedly roll to the basket instead of pop out on picks. He has to repeatedly take the ball to the basket instead of settling for jumpers. He needs to kind of recondition his thinking.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I mostly agree, but I think I'd use different terminology. I don't think his basketball IQ is lacking. He does a lot of things that are very smart. I think his issue is that he thinks too much and lacks experience. He doesn't do Josh Jackson/ Marquese Chriss stupid stuff. He is a young kid and the game moves just a little too quickly for him. I think the game will slow down. Improvements he's already made on defense give us hope that he'll figure things out.

See I could buy that on the defensive end bc it requires reaction and if your mental game is lagging it won’t compute fast enough to react. But on the offensive end if you’ve got the back you control the tempo so it shouldn’t matter as much. And everyone here seems to believe his defense is ahead of his offense so this reasoning of the game being too fast doesn’t compute for me.

 

[Mainstreet]

If I were going to point out one thing that bothers me some about Ayton is his lack of nose for the ball.

The really good big men go after it like it belongs to them around the rim. However, if he improves even slightly in this regard he is going to have impressive stats.

Part of it may be because Ayton is still learning the game.

 

[SirStefan32]

See I could buy that on the defensive end bc it requires reaction and if your mental game is lagging it won’t compute fast enough to react. But on the offensive end if you’ve got the back you control the tempo so it shouldn’t matter as much. And everyone here seems to believe his defense is ahead of his offense so this reasoning of the game being too fast doesn’t compute for me.

Fair enough. It could be two separate issues as well. Game is moving a little too fast, but he also needs to recondition himself to roll to the basket, take the ball to the hoop, etc. He's got issues, but I don't think any of them are issues that can't be fixed.

 

[BC867]

Deandre's bball IQ is lacking. That can improve. I am pretty convinced that is his main problem. His brain is about a quarter second behind the game happening around him.

And BC, that is not an alabi, its a flaw.

Alibi referred to his missing time this season due to his stupidity
and using it as an excuse.

You know that!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Fair enough. It could be two separate issues as well. Game is moving a little too fast, but he also needs to recondition himself to roll to the basket, take the ball to the hoop, etc. He's got issues, but I don't think any of them are issues that can't be fixed.

All his warts, imo, are fixable. But the biggest is whether he has the desire and drive to do so. Absent that one defining quality none of them get fixed.

 

[SirStefan32]

All his warts, imo, are fixable. But the biggest is whether he has the desire and drive to do so. Absent that one defining quality none of them get fixed.

You nailed it. That is spot on!

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Ayton defended 48 shots against the Knicks and they only made 14 of them (29.2%). That's a crazy amount of contested shots.

https://stats.nba.com/game/0021900614/defense/?sort=MATCHUP_FG_PCT&dir=-1

 

[TJ]

Ayton defended 48 shots against the Knicks and they only made 14 of them (29.2%). That's a crazy amount of contested shots.

https://stats.nba.com/game/0021900614/defense/?sort=MATCHUP_FG_PCT&dir=-1

What’s the average # of shots one defends in a game? 48 seems like a lot

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

What’s the average # of shots one defends in a game? 48 seems like a lot

Ayton averages 17.9 per game and he is tied for 2nd most. Gobert is first in contests and he averages like 19 per game. That 48 contests is a huge number of contested shots and may very well be the most by anyone this year.

Actually just took another look at that box score and for some reason they doubled the makes and attempts for the game. The 29% was correct but it was on 7 of 24, not 14 of 48.

 

[TJ]

Ayton averages 17.9 per game and he is tied for 2nd most. Gobert is first in contests and he averages like 19 per game. That 48 contests is a huge number of contested shots and may very well be the most by anyone this year.

Actually just took another look at that box score and for some reason they doubled the makes and attempts for the game. The 29% was correct but it was on 7 of 24, not 14 of 48.

Ahh that makes more sense. 24 is still a lot, and 29% is outstanding. His defense has markedly improved and the numbers support it. Hard not to think that last night’s game was something of a revelation for himself and his doubters

 

[Mainstreet]

Ahh that makes more sense. 24 is still a lot, and 29% is outstanding. His defense has markedly improved and the numbers support it. Hard not to think that last night’s game was something of a revelation for himself and his doubters

There will be bumps but I think Ayton as arrived. Suns needed his effort last night without Oubre and he delivered.

 

[JCSunsfan]

There will be bumps but I think Ayton as arrived. Suns needed his effort last night without Oubre and he delivered.

I think this is premature. I think he is closer.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think this is premature. I think he is closer.

Certainly Ayton is no where near his peak but my expectation for him is to be a pillar for the Suns going forward this season.

Ayton is not on Booker's level yet but I have similar expectations for him as I do Oubre or Rubio.

 

[Sunstroke]

Ayton finally played like his team, coaches, and fans expect him to play.
Great energy and EFFORT on both baskets. I want to see this continue.
C'mon Deandre and go Suns!

 

[SirStefan32]

Ayton is a young kid, and big men take a while to develop. I don't think Ayton has "arrived". He will good games, mediocre games, and a few bad and great games sprinkled in. I think the point is that we have finally seen him flat-out dominate. He was clearly the most dominant force in the paint last night, and while the Knicks are not a good team, they do have some size. I would guess that we'll start seeing games like this from time to time, and as the time goes by, those games will become more frequent. Outside of that one insane half last year, he really hasn't shown us that he can flat-out dominate. I think that's what makes this game very important.

 

[Carolinacacti]

AD will need help to dominate and Book, Rubio did an excellent job. I also believe the Suns coaching staff have switched a light bulb on or struck a match or slapped his silly ass.