Already a member? 4/30 Suns center Deandre Ayton is confident that Phoenix will rebound after its 125-107 blowout loss to the higher-seeded Nuggets in Game 1 of their second-round matchup, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500(VA). Deandre Edoneille Ayton For the Suns to take down the top-seeded Nuggets in their second-round series, they'll need Ayton to narrow his role - then thrive in it. One of Aytons strengths as a defender relative to many other bigs around the NBA is his mobility, which allows him to defend players on the perimeter that celebrated elite defensive centers like Rudy Gobert simply wouldnt dare to guard more than ten feet from the rim. And then finally, Michael Porter Jr. will be somewhat of a free safety for Denver. He has grown into his body from a mental standpoint. Sign up for the PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 25: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston . The Suns, currently with the third-best defensive rating league, believe they can get even better defensively and Ayton has a huge role to play in that. Advantage: Suns. It was an unnecessary switch. The end result is a missed three-pointer and a rebound for DA. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Overall, Ayton this season is defending 13.9 shots per game and holding opponents to 48% shooting: 1.1% below where they would expect to be. Blitzing is a great way to get the ball out of Booker and Durant's hands when they run pick-and-roll. Advanced Game Log "Teams are using smaller guys at different positions, and they're putting the ball on the ground, making our defense move and. Durant has two finals MVPs. He is shooting a career-high 64.7 percent from the field and his per-36 average of 20.7 points is a career-best as well. Where was DeAndre Jordan born? Filter or search to find players. To have a center who loves to play defense and is excited to learn how to better that skillset isnt something youll find on many Twitter highlights or postgame shows. bs, High School: Examining potential sign-and-trade destinations for Deandre Ayton. Me rolling to the basket, I know that brings so much attention to the rim and so many guys load up on me when Im rolling to the basket or anywhere around the basket,'' he said. Thats a meaningful amount. Ayton grades out at an A- for rim contests per 75 possessions, A- for block rate on contests, B+ on percent of rim shots contested, and an A for adjusted rim points saved per 36. Have no fear, Mikal, as DA is there. Couple that with Crowders ability to see it as well and close in time to challenge the shot, and the shooter is taken out of his rhythm and misses. He points at Finney-Smith and yells to Jae Crowder where to defend. ", Just being a presence on both ends of the floor. Craig will have his hands full with Porter Jr.'s movement shooting, who shot 42.4 percent from three in the first round. He is continuing to learn, to read what the opposition is doing, and to execute what he sees. Never made an all star team (or all nba or all defense team). Ayton can feast against both of these strategies. Jae Crowder on what they've been emphasizing to Deandre Ayton and the potential the Suns have with him defensively: pic.twitter.com/9PbasSyJEY. Murray used to torch Phoenix before his knee injury that sidelined him the entire 2021-22 season. It will be on Malone to push the right buttons. The perimeter defense of the Suns knows that he is behind him to protect the chances they take. Last season, Ayton defended 5.6 shots per game inside six feet, and had a defended field goal percentage of just 58%: almost six percent BELOW those same shooters' averages at the distance.. The Suns' transition attack has been downright spooky, ranked first out of all sixteen playoff teams. Oops. In other words, they'll need Ayton to play like a . Defensive . All #1 picks who have 0x all star: Deandre Ayton, Markelle Fultz, Anthony Bennett, Greg Oden, Andrea Bargnani, Kwame Brown, Michael Olowokandi, Joe Smith (until 1990 , btw didnt include Ant and Cade for obvious reasons) Despite finishing the series against LA with averages of 28.4 points on 51.8 percent shooting and 45.8 percent from three, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists, Durant's offensive utilization felt a tad bit odd. The goal for the offense is to enough create space and miscommunication to generate an easy basket. The likes of Luka, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Zion have all switched into Ayton at some point this year. Not to sound like the old guy in the room, but its a different game these days. However, the Nuggets dont have anyone to slow down Kevin Durant or Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton has held his own against Jokic over the years. pic.twitter.com/VrC1ZGteAy, Suns Are Better (@SunsAreBetter) April 30, 2023, Deandre Ayton is a bundle of energy pic.twitter.com/6USnrt7rjN, What is Deandre Ayton doing pic.twitter.com/2fayiJBPSJ, Mink Flow (@currypistonn) April 30, 2023, If Ayton does this one more time his nba contract should be ripped apart pic.twitter.com/Sl0vrj2GUu, DurantMuse (@Durantmuse) April 30, 2023, Ayton watching from courtside like damn Jokic big as hell pic.twitter.com/ZGipvoAYFU, sreekar (@sreekyshooter) April 30, 2023. In Game 2 against the LA Clippers, the Suns ran more sets for Durant. The national motto for the Bahamas is "Forward Upward Onward Together," which is defined as moving in "the direction and manner in which the Bahamian nation should move.". The news comes from . Trade value on the open market is 20.83 which ranks him 15th among center's and 57th overall. When we set the shot distance to six feet or less, we can get a good idea of how often a player is defending shots in the paint, and what the outcome of those shots has been. Eligibility restrictions apply. We like to call that gathering place, Twitter. Home Current Teams Phoenix Suns Deandre Ayton Boston's Kyrie Irving was regarded as a slightly above-average defender by RPM last year, for instance. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. He knows that if he cheats and gets beat, Deandre is behind him fortifying the defense. Phoenix, meanwhile, has taken things up another level in the playoffs with Durant in the fold. Right, Born: The anchor of the defense mirrors the responsibilities of a middle linebacker: call out what you see and direct your resources towards your teams weaknesses. Too much just standing around and watching from Ayton. Deandre Ayton is on Instagram at deandreayton. However, the story of the postseason for Phoenix has been Devin Booker, who averaged 37.2 points on 60.2 percent shooting and 46.7 percent from three to go with 6.4 assists in the first round. How much does DeAndre Jordan weigh? Phoenix, on the other hand, has ranked just 11th in rebounding in the playoffs. So far this season, Ayton is defending 4.7 such shots per game and has a defended field goal percentage of 64.6, which is almost dead-on with the 64.7 season average for those shooters. He can also erase the effectiveness of Malone's small-ball lineups by unleashing brute physicality against mismatches. Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets dunks past the defense of Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix . A play during the Suns' 125-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 didn't help his cause in quieting his critics. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Pitching to as close to a perfect game as possible in the short roll could force Denver away from blitzing Booker and Durant at every turn. Not bad, to be clear, but it feels like there's another level for him on this iteration of the Phoenix Suns. More: Phoenix Suns fans slam Monty Williams for playing Landry Shamet in loss to Denver Nuggets, The Suns dont have much of a chance this series against Denver if Deandre Ayton has moments like this.Simply inexcusable to watch your teammates fight for a loose ball while standing on the baseline. In-game adjustments is what will separate the two in this series. Defense isnt sexy. The Suns and Nuggets faced off four times in the regular season, splitting the series 2-2. How the Suns lost Game 1, and what that means for the rest of the series, The odds are now well against the Phoenix Suns in this series, though a few tweaks and better effort could make a world of difference, Center of the Sun: The Rubio mentality, next-level Booker, and respect. So I stopped looking at Mikal highlights and began analyzing Deandre Ayton. 116 career games means technically he is in year 2 of development No matter which side of the Deandre Ayton Draft Debate you fall on, respect must be garnered for the efforts he has put forth on the defensive end thus far this year. The Suns' record went from 19-63 to 34-39 to 51-21 in Ayton's three seasons. We hear from him, too. Mistakes happen (and some players are very hard to categorize)! Teams use switches constantly to create favorable mismatches for their offense. Nope, I run on Tesla battery. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. LOS ANGELES Deandre Ayton has been the MVP of the Western Conference Finals. That didnt go over well with his teammates. They're shooting a blistering 53.3 percent from the field and have the best postseason offense. People climbing up on your shoulders like youre a ladder. pic.twitter.com/cyGL05LP9h. Denver finished with the fifth-best offense during the regular season and led the NBA in field goal percentage. More NBA:Player projectionsOur 2022-23 NBA predictionsBuild your own team. Luka Doncic uses a high screen set by Willie Cauley-Stein in an effort to switch out of the pesky defense of Bridges. Arizona has forced only 11.8 turnovers per game, and that includes three games against overmatched . LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Suns vs Rockets . 8. Murray will again be tasked with guarding a veteran point guard, graduating from Mike Conley to Chris Paul. Twitter: Clutch win%: Suns 66.7% (2-1, 6th), Nuggets 75% (3-1, 5th). Its not all glitz and glamour, defensive dominance and swatted leather. StatMuse has season-level data for defensive rating going back to the 1973-74 season. NBA 2K23 UPDATED PLAYER RATINGS 02.17. Hard call. For a player with such elite physical gifts, his shot blocking ability is curiously average is what his NBADraft.net player profile said coming out of college. DeAndre Jordan was born in Houston, Texas. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. As a result of his understanding of the pick and roll, Deandre easily blocks his shot, Booker retrieves the rebound, and the Suns begin a transition possession. Durant's usage rate was reflective of that. Ayton is actively learning the offensive sets that opposing teams are running. The second round of the 2023 postseason starts off with a bang when the #1 seed Denver Nuggets go head-to-head with the #4 seed Phoenix Suns in a series that's stuffed to the brim with star talent. Altitude, minutes and Suns bench: Durant and Booker averaged 44 and 43.2 minutes in the Clippers series. But it is absolutely paramount to the success of a teams interior and perimeter defense. The Nuggets use Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as screeners regularly, and if Phoenix struggles to switch between its guards, those two will gleefully rain down three-pointers. Motor, come on, Ayton said. He has a total of 15 Badges. Clippers big Ivica Zubac had 11 rebounds in the first half, 15 for the game. All statistics courtesy of NBA Stats or Cleaning the Glass unless stated otherwise. 5. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. 1 overall of the 2018 NBA Draft, shot 8-of-12 from the field and was a team-best +20 in his 34 minutes. Phoenix appeared a beat slow on its defensive switches throughout the series against LA. The defensive side of the ball is where we might see some separation between the two teams. The relationship between Ayton and the Suns has reportedly soured . Though drop coverage is great for curtailing at-rim attempts, it concedes off-the-dribble shots from the three-point line and the midrange. Join our linker program. Needlessly standing there, hands at his sides, completely uninvolved in the offense. The Suns will need more than a Tesla motor to stop the two-time MVP. Through three playoff contests, the fifth-year big man is averaging 14.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, but he's shooting just 60 percent from the free-throw line. Their 21-5 streak, after stumbling to an 8-8 start, is the best record in the league since late January. He appeared to be tentative in early contests against the Mavericks and Kings, but by the time the Suns played the Nuggets, Deandre was using his size and physicality to move the opposition off of their spots. Whatever they write about a guy not scoring an X amount, but the pressure that hes putting on the rim and forcing guys to guard him around the basket is creating so many opportunities for Book and Kevin, Williams said. If you have your Bleacher Report notifications set to on, you will receive numerous micro-updates of the plays that awe and amaze nightly. After the Suns declined to sign Ayton to a five-year, rookie-scale max extension before the 2021-22 season, restricted free agency is now on the horizon for the athletic big man. It's also a great way to test the decision-making of Deandre Ayton, which is a gamble absolutely worth taking for the Nuggets (more on this in a second). Yet. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 4:39AM. Maybe. Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, Draft: To Craig's credit, he made LA pay for the strategy by shooting 55.6 percent from deep in the series. He was just talking about his ability is have to be patient so that he knows what theyre doing and he can react and that is a great value for us, Williams said. Ayton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in the game. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton on Friday night at the NBA summer league in Las . Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns (RFA) The Suns had a chance to sign Ayton to a rookie-scale extension before this season began, but the two sides couldn't agree on terms. Here is a breakdown of the series and prediction: The Nuggets are the No. Enter Chris Paul. At other points, Phoenix's switching defense would present them with disadvantageous matchups. Rudy Gobert is a beast on the boards. Deandre Ayton is on Twitter at DeandreAyton. Shooting Heck, DeAndre Jordan could even be worth a look to crash the glass against Phoenix's frail rebounding. Something went wrong. You get a feel for the newness of the Suns in the halfcourt. Double Booker, Durant is unleashed. He didnt dunk it! On-Off. By circumstance, this allows the screener to run free and make decisions in the open floor. The Phoenix Suns dropped from best odds to win the West to 3rd best, despite still being 2nd best to win the whole league. Big offensive rebounds late in games, setting great screens with great angles. The battle on the boards is also worth keeping an eye on. Utilizing Joki as the drop defender is just asking for a thunderstorm of midrange buckets. Try to play hard, man. But last years team won an awful lot, so this is not isolatable to Ayton. Denver has kicked things into high gear in the postseason and ranks fifth in defensive rating after finishing just 17th during the regular season. . Suns drop to 3rd best title odds as Warriors advance to second round. They have split their 14 matchups with Ayton winning four of his seven in that 2021 postseason sweep. He's a fantastic spot-up option, as well, but there are more ways to utilize Durant within an offense. His 76 wingspan is a hinderance to any ball-handler who makes their way towards the basket. Ayton had 18 points in Game 1, but he grabbed just eight rebounds with only three coming in the first half of last weeks loss. More: Hes been able to do that. Yes, small sample size, but it is something to continue to monitor as the year progresses. The season started off with a lot of frustration, but that seems to have cooled a bit of late as the big man has gone for 20 more more points four times in the past two weeks, and collected 10 or more rebounds the same number of times. This was Deandre Ayton's last defensive possession of the game that appeared to prompt Monty to sub him out for the final time. The oldest play in the book. Can Denver get away with MPJ cheating off Craig and Okogie in the corners to clog up the painted area? When he reaches his hands into the air to create a wall, it is a dauntingly visible deterrent. DeAndre Jordan weighs 265 lbs (120 kg). Phoenix seems unsettled on a bench rotation other than Bismack Biyombo and Okogie, but Denver is rolling Jeff Green, rookie Christian Braun and Brown. They started off in the drop. . Jokic a dcoup DeAndre Ayton et la dfense des Suns tout le match. More: 'Going to be fun': Deandre Ayton looking forward to matchup with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic Altitude, minutes and Suns bench: Durant and Booker averaged 44 and 43.2 minutes in the Clippers. He recently said that he anchors Phoenix on both offense and defense. Start your online subscription. All rights reserved. Who has the most 20 rebound games? Its worth the price of admissionif we were permitted to attend. Its opening everything else for everybody else.. Start your online subscription. Booker is quick and strong, but he'll need to be at the top of his defensive game to keep pace with Denver's electric point guard. Game 1 between Denver and Phoenix will tip Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MT and air on TNT. Javascript is required for the selection of a player. The 6'11" center stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Blitzing will be key for the Nuggets. Void in ONT. Twice in the first half, Phoenix set screens at the elbow for Durant to curl off and dribble into midrange jumpers. Thats about it. The team's most recent championship series appearance was in the 2021 NBA Finals when they were defeated by the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks. Points per game: Suns 122 (2nd), Nuggets 114.2 (9th). Just turned up a notch.. The Suns got zilch from their bench when the game was a game, didn't match Denver's physicality and . There is an expectation that the 2018 #1 overall draft pick should be creating plays worthy of being printed on posters. Oops. It stresses the defense and tires their legs. How old is DeAndre Jordan? If so, then Williams will need more from his bench. Deandre Ayton 7'1" big 24.7 years old Profile Positions On/Off Stats Game Logs Lineups Trends Team Efficiency and Four Factors The rest of this page is for subscribers only. He thought wrong. Teams are looking to rebound any missed field goal, get the ball out, and run. How many career 30+ point games does Deandre Ayton have? Plus, Ayton hasn't consistently punished mismatches after switches. Your weekly roundup of Phoenix Suns news, rumors, notes and videos from the prior week plus a preview of the week to come. On NBA 2K23, the Current Version of Deandre Ayton has an Overall 2K Rating of 84 with a 2-Way Inside-the-Arc Scorer Build. Deandre Ayton is easily having the best playoff debut run by any player in NBA history. Some other big men known for great defense, like Gobert and Joel Embiid, are also appearing to have less impressive performances on that end so far this season. Its a collective group, but both ways, though, too. Naming the head coach as a playoff x-factor is unique, if not unprecedented. pic.twitter.com/VaHtoxu9fn, Lakers Vino (@VinoUncorked) April 30, 2023, Wth is DeAndre Ayton doing here? Monday, May 1st vs As the season has progressed, Aytons confidence in his defense has strengthened. Support local journalism. Nuggets. See More at HoopsRumors Deandre Ayton Overview Game Logs Game-by-game stat line for the player 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 At 6'11" with a 7'5" reach, Durant is an excellent secondary shot blocker with a condor-like wingspan. Did he forget his job is to get boards? Historically, Joki has had a pretty easy time scoring against Ayton and has made 49.4 percent of his shots with Ayton as the closest defender in his career. 2021 Western Conference semifinals (Suns won in four). (45-37, 4th place in NBA Western Conference), Next Game: Deandre Ayton FOLLOW PPG 18.0 RPG 10.0 APG 1.7 PIE 14.5 HEIGHT 7'0" (2.13m) WEIGHT 250lb (113kg) COUNTRY Bahamas LAST ATTENDED Arizona AGE 24 years BIRTHDATE July 23, 1998 DRAFT 2018 R1 Pick 1. Mike Conley gets nailed by Joki's screen, so Gobert "hedges" out to Murray to stop his dribble. You have to possess the ability to make quick decisions in transition. As such, there are moments when the Suns appear out of sync. Bridges takes a chance on this play and is beat by Mike Conley (granted, he was preparing for a high pick and roll with Rudy Gobert, so he set himself to defend in that manner). Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Ayton did an admirable job defending Joker in the 2021 series, but typically after an . How and when Malone alternates his defensive coverages could greatly dictate the flow of games. Malone will be in the driver's seat for all of them. Center of the Sun: The Rubio mentality, next-level Booker, and respect. Deandre Ayton. 1 seed in the West for the first time ever. We calculate trade values by evaluating the performance of all center's across dozens of stat categories including how their performance has stacked up to expectations and their projected outlook. The Nuggets finished the regular season with the best record in their conference for the first time in franchise history. Gambling Problem? Read our expert rankings on the best sports betting sites here. Communicating to my teammates what they cant see. Gambling Problem? Paul, Booker, and Durant are all lethal midrange scorers and utilize specific moves like the "snake dribble" to find windows of opportunity against dropping big men. The NBA is a highlight driven league. Zion is looking to barrel towards the basket and slam home one of those Twitter highlights as he uses an Adams pick at the top of the key. There's no reason for Malone to go away from his small-ball gambit against the Suns. Defense and Rebounding. The acquisition of Durant meant Ayton's role changed again. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. His block percentage is up slightly from last season to 2.5% from 2.1%, his steal percentage is down slightly to 0.8% from 1.1%. . But Malone's job goes beyond just dictating defensive coverages. Additional contributions by Neil Paine. Game Recap: Suns eclipsed by hot Nuggets, fall 125-107. Phoenix, meanwhile, has struggled on that end of the floor with the fourth-worst playoff defense. Booker, Paul, and Durant are all too experienced and too talented to see one style of defense over and over and over. Deandre Ayton has a defensive rating of 110.9 this season. What? newsletter. Having the ability to navigate it successfully from a defensive standpoint is challenging. Denver's pick-and-roll defense will rightfully be put under the microscope against Phoenix. Over the years, he's transformed into more of a nominal pick-and-roll big man. This season, Deandre Ayton has helped propel the Suns to one of the best defenses in the league, making Phoenix management wish they'd handed him a max contract over the summer. Denver and Phoenix each boast high-powered offenses with Hall of Fame hubs commandeering things, so there's a good chance this series becomes a bit of a shootout. He has continued to not only show a cerebral increase and understanding of the not-so-sexy side of the ball, he has displayed an affinity for it as well. After defending Anthony Edwards in Round 1, KCP will get another crack at an explosive scorer at the shooting guard position. The main struggles the Suns have faced have been on the defensive side of things, as they have averaged nearly 117 PPG through this stretch. The league average for pace-of-play is 101.3 possessions-per-48-minutes. Really? DeAndre Ayton Trade Value. And its getting ugly. The more you watch Deandre, the more you notice him calling out plays from the rear. Calculating Trade Value. Odds and lines subject to change. He has a long way to go. Defensive awareness needs to improve. Advantage. DEN best record in the league since late January. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns' Deandre Ayton blasted for lack of effort in Game 1 vs. Nuggets, Phoenix Suns fans slam Monty Williams for playing, Suns' Deandre Ayton blasted for lack of effort in Game 1 vs. Nuggets. Here's a legitimate 7-footer with all the athleticism, talent and durability any franchise would want out of a No. Their defensive rating has gone from 29th to 17th to sixth. And it may be worth tracking throughout the season as the Suns seek to make a playoff run. It'll be interesting to see if Denver adopts a similar strategy. You know, role players. 2022-2023 Game Log 16.3 shots per game, 44%, 4.1% below shooter averages. Ayton averaged 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists this season for the Phoenix Suns on. Support local journalism. Jalen Brunson, Dallas . Offensively, thats just not who he is. Nuggets wing Bruce Brown is probably the best bench player of both teams. It's an odd. His ability to face-up and splash shots from the midrange almost immediately made him the go-to option in Phoenix. Hes averaging a career playoff-high so far this year at 27.2 points a game. That, in large part, is due to Chris Paul coming into town, who primarily operates within the screen-and-dive game. Center Ayton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in the game. When asked about people questioning his motor, Ayton was initially incredulous. DeAndre Jordan was born on July 21, 1988. Their 33-point loss was the worst defeat at home in a Game 7 since the St. Louis Bombers lost by 39 in 1948. Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul fill out the rest of their "Big Four." Ayton averages 16 PPG and leads the team in rebounds at 11 per game in the postseason, while Paul averages 14 PPG and leads the Suns in the postseason at assists at 8 per game. Landry Shamet continues to be the first guy off the bench for the Suns. Well, for one, he can have Joki play much closer to screens and "hedge." He understands his impact on winning and I just think its phenomenal that hes of that mindset and understands that theres going to be games where he scores and theres going to be games where hes doing what he did in the last two games, where hes creating a lot of opportunities with space underneath the basket for other people.. The 24-year-old scoffed at the notion . Suns-Nuggets preview, Pt. Being that anchor and aggressor. Phoenix Suns center. Booker carryover: Next to Miamis Jimmy Butler, Booker has been the best player in the playoffs so far. Will that lead to Suns coach Monty Williams playing Durant and Booker less? Far away from home in Phoenix, it's that Bahamian mindset that has helped Deandre Ayton have peace with his unrewarded contract situation with the Suns. In the other two, Denver sat a majority of its starters. Suns coach Monty Williams has repeatedly said Deandre Ayton is finding ways to impact winning in this first round series against the Clippers. He won the 2020 defensive player of the year award but somehow got criticized because he doesn't regularly attempt to shut down the opposing team's best perimeter scorer one-on-one. The team is currently 1st in the NBA opponents-points-per-game (100.8), 4th in defensive rating (104.4), and 8th in opponent-eFG% (.513). Have opinion about current state of theSuns? Even. The Suns are leaving too much food on the table by having Durant space the floor as much as he has. Ayton is having another excellent season, arguably the best of his career. On the other hand,. Check out this Caesars Sportsbook promo code for April 2023 here. Mikal can be great and take risks due to the presence of Ayton. DominAyton, Tiger, Dominator are nicknames for Deandre Ayton. Josh Okogie has become Phoenixs sixth man in the postseason, but hes not enough. At best, he's Phoenix's fourth option now, a major change from being the face of the franchise when he was first drafted. The Seven Seconds of Less era truly revolutionized the way way the game is played. Hedging is a style of pick-and-roll defense where the big man jumps out toward the ball-handler and then recovers back to his man. His self-awareness and body control allow for him to challenge opposing players without committing fouls. The Phoenix Suns dropped from best odds to win the West to 3rd best, despite still being 2nd best to win the whole league. Will Porter Jr. be used as a secondary defender against Booker and Durant in the pick-and-roll or in the post?
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deandre ayton defensive rating