Lakers @ Suns Sunday game thread 3-21-21

[Cheesebeef]

December. He has been very consistent since then.

sorry. He’s averaging 13 and 7.7 rebounds this month, has had trouble staying out of foul trouble and on the court and has even been benched for the entirety of multiple fourth quarters. If there are actually months WORSE than that, it’s an even bigger issue than we’re currently facing with him.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Everyone is pissed off he had been consistently great since January, and hasn’t become elite at 22 in the last month? Story checks out.

lol... Ayton has been consistently great since January? I mean...

 

[Mainstreet]

Lakers did not close the door to bringing Damian Jones back after two 10-day contracts.

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[taz02]

Good point on Ayton guarding Morant. He did an excellent job.

Stats are stats but the fact is, during games he has significant mental lapses, fouls, bobbling passes, weak moves to the basket and passing out of the paint when he should dunk.

I don't think anyone is saying Ayton is horrible. The suns NEED him to play like a number one pick and he rarely does. The suns simply cannot jump to the next level "title contenders" without him playing like you'd expect a number one pick to play. That's what is so frustrating.

As someone else pointed out, if he was picked 9th we'd have lower expectations and would likely be pleased with his contributions.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

As someone else pointed out, if he was picked 9th we'd have lower expectations and would likely be pleased with his contributions.

I don't know if this is true at this point. The bigger issue is that we have seen on the court what he is capable of doing when he is engaged for entire games and at some point would start to expect that more often regardless of draft position.

 

[Sunstroke]

Suns are roster deep, young and well coached. The ingredients needed for
many future seasons of playoff runs. Every game from here on out is a
'statement' game whether it's against the T-Wolves, Lakers, Jazz...

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I don't know if this is true at this point. The bigger issue is that we have seen on the court what he is capable of doing when he is engaged for entire games and at some point would start to expect that more often regardless of draft position.

Exactly. I’m not disappointed because we drafted him first and he’s failed to live up to his draft status. As a rule, once someone is drafted I no longer care where they were drafted. Rather, I know what he’s physically capable of, but it’s rare to see him hit that high mark. I also see no growth from him this season, and as of late I see regression. Shoot, EJ sees it and calls it out every game. And I have to think Monty sees it and it’s the reason for his reduction in minutes and his comments.

 

[Mainstreet]

Starters tonight.

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[Hoop Head]

This is a game Ayton should dominate since Markieff isn't much of a defensive matchup for him and he's also a poor rebounder. We all know Markieff is a poor defender also. So a 25 & 15 outing by Ayton shouldn't be too difficult for him if he's engaged. Lets see if he is though.

 

[Mainstreet]

Getting close to tip-off.

I hope the Suns come out ready to play.

 

[Mainstreet]

Booker scores on mid-range jumper to open the game.

 

[Mainstreet]

Timeout. Suns lead Lakers 10-2.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Good start.

 

[Chaplin]

Suns look sharp early on.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Lakers are petrified to get near the rim.

hmmmmmmmmmm

 

[taz02]

I don't know if this is true at this point. The bigger issue is that we have seen on the court what he is capable of doing when he is engaged for entire games and at some point would start to expect that more often regardless of draft position.

Hmmmm. I don't know. Most every NBA has a great game or several during their carrier. How much the player costs; draft position, trade assets or salary raises expectations. A #1 pick is supposed to perform at a high level consistently and DA hasn't. That is the disappointment IMO. If he was picked in the second round there wouldn't be 500 posts discussing his poor play.

If you pay $1,500.00 for a car and it breaks down, no big surprise;. If you are on the side of the freeway with a broken down $80,000.00 car its a little more upsetting.

I'm not a DA hater, just disappointed and hope he gets it together.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Holy crap, that is a TERRIBLE call against Ayton.

 

[Mainstreet]

Where was that foul on Ayton?

 

[Mainstreet]

Booker misses both free throws. Ugh.

 

[Mainstreet]

Payne was wide open and Booker chose to pass the ball to Crowder who took a moving jumper and missed.

 

[Mainstreet]

Cam Johnson with the three!

 

[JerkFace]

Welcome back Cam!

 

[WhyAlwaysMe]

Cam Johnson with the three!

that felt amazing!

 

[Cheesebeef]

Nice way to start your comeback Cam.

 

[Mainstreet]

End of 1st quarter:

Suns 31 - Lakers 26