Welcome to the NBA DeAndre Ayton

[Phrazbit]

8-11, 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block and really good defense.

And against one of the best defensive bigs in the league.

He had one stretch in the 2nd where he seemed to be lost for a few plays, other than that he was terrific throughout.

He and Booker are going to be a serious matchup problem for teams.

 

[SirStefan32]

I have never seen such a disciplined, well-rounded big men at that age.

 

[Phrazbit]

I have never seen such a disciplined, well-rounded big men at that age.

His passing was so impressive. He was consistently looking for the open 3 point shooter when the Mavs threw a double at him. So many bigs feel the defensive pressure and their instinct is to rush their shot before they can get stripped.

 

[SirStefan32]

His passing was so impressive. He was consistently looking for the open 3 point shooter when the Mavs threw a double at him. So many bigs feel the defensive pressure and their instinct is to rush their shot before they can get stripped.

And he doesn't force anything. He just makes a simple play. I am impressed.

 

[Suns_fan69]

I have never seen such a disciplined, well-rounded big men at that age.

Poised. I can't think of a single instance in that game where I felt like I saw a rookie playing his FIRST GAME IN THE NBA. That's amazing.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

And it's not like he got an easy matchup!

 

[Phrazbit]

Oh, and only 2 fouls.

If Len was as engaged as Ayton was tonight, Len fouls out in about 12 minutes.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I have never seen such a disciplined, well-rounded big men at that age.

Tim Duncan

 

[SirStefan32]

Tim Duncan

He was older when he got to the NBA, no? I thought Timmy was in school for four years.

 

[TJ]

Parting gift from McD was not overthinking the #1 pick. Ayton/Booker is going to be a problem in the NBA for a while

 

[TJ]

He was older when he got to the NBA, no? I thought Timmy was in school for four years.

Correct. Ayton has also been playing team basketball for only 6 or 7 years.

He’s still learning the game.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

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[Yuma]

And he doesn't force anything. He just makes a simple play. I am impressed.

I whole heartedly agree. The two fouls is perhaps the best stat. I want him to stay in games. He opened up a lot for us on offense with just the presence of the threat of the lob.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He was older when he got to the NBA, no? I thought Timmy was in school for four years.

Oh that’s absolutely true. At his age I’ve seen no other as poised and skilled as Ayton IN OPENING GAME.

 

[Folster]

What I like best about Ayton is that he has a game that will age well as his athleticism wanes unlike explosive big men like Amar'e who rely too much on their athleticism.

 

[Yuma]

What I like best about Ayton is that he has a game that will age well as his athleticism wanes unlike explosive big men like Amar'e who rely too much on their athleticism.

He has an old school NBA game. He could play 15-18 years.

 

[Superbone]

I think they ripped him off on blocks. I saw more than one, that's for sure.

 

[Yuma]

I think they ripped him off on blocks. I saw more than one, that's for sure.

I thought so, too.

 

[elindholm]

Parting gift from McD was not overthinking the #1 pick. Ayton/Booker is going to be a problem in the NBA for a while

God, imagine if we had had to watch Ayton make that debut for some other team after the Suns passed on him. Brutal.

 

[Hoop Head]

Oh, and only 2 fouls.

If Len was as engaged as Ayton was tonight, Len fouls out in about 12 minutes.

FWIW Len shot 50% from the field tonight, had 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, with 4 fouls in 21 minutes as the Hawks starting Center tonight. He had 7 points, making 1 of 2 FT's also. He had a +/- of -14. Hawks lost by 19 points to the Knicks, 107-126.

Ayton should no longer be mentioned in the same post as Len. It's night and day with those 2. I think suffering through Len for 5 years makes Ayton that much sweeter.

 

[Yuma]

FWIW Len shot 50% from the field tonight, had 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, with 4 fouls in 21 minutes as the Hawks starting Center tonight. He had a +/- of -14. Hawks lost by 19 points to the Knicks, 107-126.

Ayton should no longer be mentioned in the same post as Len. It's night and day with those 2. I think suffering through Len for 5 years makes Ayton that much sweeter.

Probably the worst hands on a big I have ever seen. One of the preseason games someone threw a 100 MPH pass into the post with Ayton and he softly captured the ball and then scored. It was like, Len would have totally not been able to handle that pass.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

FWIW Len shot 50% from the field tonight, had 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers, with 4 fouls in 21 minutes as the Hawks starting Center tonight. He had a +/- of -14. Hawks lost by 19 points to the Knicks, 107-126.

Ayton should no longer be mentioned in the same post as Len. It's night and day with those 2. I think suffering through Len for 5 years makes Ayton that much sweeter.

I checked in on this game really early and Len started out with 4 of the team's first 6 points. I was ready to be impressed, but then he did something very familiar...he disappeared the rest of the game.

 

[Hoop Head]

Probably the worst hands on a big I have ever seen. One of the preseason games someone threw a 100 MPH pass into the post with Ayton and he softly captured the ball and then scored. It was like, Len would have totally not been able to handle that pass.

Len is one of the main reasons a player who fumbles the pass should be charged with the turnover because he single handedly made sure Bledsoe and others had bad assist to turnover rations because they tried passing him the ball inside and he would slap it out of bounds. It got bad enough that players wouldn't pass it to him unless it was a straight pass to his chest within 15 feet or so. Any further than that and he could be open all day, no one wanted to pick up that turnover.

 

[Hoop Head]

Looking at the stats for the game tonight and Jordan only had 1 block, which I believe was against Canaan. That's one thing I liked about Ayton's shot selection, he took shots he should make, even in the paint. Amare would drive me crazy when he would get blocked by someone and repeatedly try putting it back in whether there was a man open or not. He couldn't accept being rejected and didn't seem to realize it was his own fault for putting the ball low enough to get stopped. Ayton let dunked it inside when he didn't need to, ensuring that ball was going in the basket. No stupid shots inside and really weak shots like Gortat. Gortat might be the Suns best Center in the last 30 years, which says how bad it's been for us.

 

[Suns_fan69]

Probably the worst hands on a big I have ever seen. One of the preseason games someone threw a 100 MPH pass into the post with Ayton and he softly captured the ball and then scored. It was like, Len would have totally not been able to handle that pass.

No way. That honor has got to go to Jake Tsakalidis