Aytons rookie season

[dscher]

That works. But I'd hope that Deandre passes him by in a few years.

Imo. If he has the passion to be one of he best, he will. If he doesn't, he will be average to above average. I didn't see much passion this year.. regardless of age. But time will tell.

PS. I also didnt watch much after the first quarter of season

 

[Yuma]

I know we all want him to be a 30/20 guy. However, statistically compared to other rookie center's stats, his career looks very promising. I am expecting a jump in his sophomore season.

 

[BC867]

I know we all want him to be a 30/20 guy. However, statistically compared to other rookie center's stats, his career looks very promising. I am expecting a jump in his sophomore season.

Bump.

Although we all nit-picked some of the details of Ayton's performance,
he had an impressive rookie season. Despite the lack of Point Guards
or Power Forwards to take some of the pressure off. Or a talented
management team.

This recap is a reminder that we made a good, and necessary, #1 pick.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Yuma]

Wow! 4th in blocks really stands out! I know we want 2 to 3 a night from him, but being 4th in rookies is not bad at all!

 

[95pro]

Bump.

Although we all nit-picked some of the details of Ayton's performance,
he had an impressive rookie season. Despite the lack of Point Guards
or Power Forwards to take some of the pressure off. Or a talented
management team.

This recap is a reminder that we made a good, and necessary, #1 pick.

You must be registered for see images attach

Where does Doncic sit in those same categorical stats?

 

[BC867]

Where does Doncic sit in those same categorical stats?

Here is a list of the top ten 2018-19 rookies with Doncic and Young finishing ahead of Ayton in scoring.

Of course, with them playing different positions, it is difficult to compare apples to oranges to pineapples.

Personally, I stick with the choice of a generational Center as our #1 pick and look forward to his hopeful development.

Notice the reference to "... lost in the depressing Valley of the Sun".

As I have posted in the past, I hate reading that national reference to my community.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ka-doncic-trae-young-top-deep-talented-class/

 

[Russ Smith]

Wow! 4th in blocks really stands out! I know we want 2 to 3 a night from him, but being 4th in rookies is not bad at all!

That's total not rate. Mitchell Robinson was #1, more than doubled Ayton and played 800 minutes LESS, Bamba had 3 less blocks and 1400 less minutes. The list I found had Ayton 3rd not 4th, but he averaged less than 1 BPG. He was 34th in the NBA in BPG, just slightly behind Marvin Bagley Jr.

I thought he still had a very good rookie year and has a very high ceiling, but the people that said he didn't block shots in college and it was a concern were right, he didn't block shots at anything like what you want from a 7 footer.

 

[Yuma]

That's total not rate. Mitchell Robinson was #1, more than doubled Ayton and played 800 minutes LESS, Bamba had 3 less blocks and 1400 less minutes. The list I found had Ayton 3rd not 4th, but he averaged less than 1 BPG. He was 34th in the NBA in BPG, just slightly behind Marvin Bagley Jr.

I thought he still had a very good rookie year and has a very high ceiling, but the people that said he didn't block shots in college and it was a concern were right, he didn't block shots at anything like what you want from a 7 footer.

Oh I agree with that. We are using him the same way he played in college. Letting him swing all the way out to try and block three point shooters. He is all over the place on defense. That's admirable, BUT, I am more old school and would like to see him stay more around the paint. The best defense on the front line was him and Bender, because Bender would slide to the paint went Ayton swung out to the three line. JUst think what a real PF would do for our defense!!

 

[Russ Smith]

Oh I agree with that. We are using him the same way he played in college. Letting him swing all the way out to try and block three point shooters. He is all over the place on defense. That's admirable, BUT, I am more old school and would like to see him stay more around the paint. The best defense on the front line was him and Bender, because Bender would slide to the paint went Ayton swung out to the three line. JUst think what a real PF would do for our defense!!

I think part of why is that both Miller and the Suns coaching staff recognized he's NOT a shot blocker. I mean Bagley isn't exactly a big shot blocker either and he actually blocked more shots per game than Ayton as the backup 4 in Sacramento. I think Ayton changes some shots too but he wasn't a particularly good rim protector in college so it never made sense to me that he would be in the NBA. He could be long enough, athletic enough, I still say he just has bad timing, it's why he lost so many jump balls in college too jumping for a vertical jump test at the combine is not the same as jumping in a real game.

I think he can be a very good player but I'm not sure he's ever going to be a very good rim protector. I think it's way too early to say the Suns made a mistake picking him he has the highest ceiling of anybody in that draft and he's still relatively new to basketball, I just don't think he's going to be a great defender. But he can be an elite offensive center and he's going to be an elite rebounder, he almost already is

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Wow! 4th in blocks really stands out! I know we want 2 to 3 a night from him, but being 4th in rookies is not bad at all!

Hmm I think I’d be more interested in blocks per 36 because I assume Ayton played a LOT more minutes than most of his rookie big men competitors.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That's total not rate. Mitchell Robinson was #1, more than doubled Ayton and played 800 minutes LESS, Bamba had 3 less blocks and 1400 less minutes. The list I found had Ayton 3rd not 4th, but he averaged less than 1 BPG. He was 34th in the NBA in BPG, just slightly behind Marvin Bagley Jr.

I thought he still had a very good rookie year and has a very high ceiling, but the people that said he didn't block shots in college and it was a concern were right, he didn't block shots at anything like what you want from a 7 footer.

Yeah this answers my question. 34th in nba. Yuck. Hope he puts in a lot of offseason work to improve here.

 

[Proximo]

He started blocking shots much better the last 10 games he played.

I don’t think he will ever be great, but 2 blocks a game seems possible.

 

[Hoop Head]

He started blocking shots much better the last 10 games he played.

I don’t think he will ever be great, but 2 blocks a game seems possible.

I think he had a few better games that stood out towards the end of the season because he averaged 1 block per game post All-Star break in his last 18 games and about 0.9 in the 53 games before. He had 17 blocks in the 15 games he played in March also, to narrow it down a little more. Here is a link to his splits.

Looking at the league leaders for blocks though I think we all might be a little hard on Ayton because I know I initially thought he should hit that 2 block a game mark but there were just 5 players who averaged that many blocks per game last season. Rudy Gobert only averaged 2.3 blocks a game and he's considered an elite level shot blocker while being nicknamed the Stifle Tower. I think with the league moving to a more perimeter oriented style that the opportunity to block 3 or 4 shots a game just isn't there anymore.

There's been a lot of talk of the Center position going by the wayside and I don't think that's entirely true but it has definitely changed. Gone are the days where Centers averaged 2 or more blocks a game and had the offense running through them in the post. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's there would regularly be a dozen or more players averaging 2 or more blocks a game but now that is sort of rarified ground. You got Centers like Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol who win Defensive Player of the Year despite not even cracking 2 blocks a game in their DPOY seasons. Gasol averaged 1.7 blocks a game and Tyson averaged just 1.4 in their DPOY seasons.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

He started blocking shots much better the last 10 games he played.

I don’t think he will ever be great, but 2 blocks a game seems possible.

If he can average that I’m more than satisfied.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think he had a few better games that stood out towards the end of the season because he averaged 1 block per game post All-Star break in his last 18 games and about 0.9 in the 53 games before. He had 17 blocks in the 15 games he played in March also, to narrow it down a little more. Here is a link to his splits.

Looking at the league leaders for blocks though I think we all might be a little hard on Ayton because I know I initially thought he should hit that 2 block a game mark but there were just 5 players who averaged that many blocks per game last season. Rudy Gobert only averaged 2.3 blocks a game and he's considered an elite level shot blocker while being nicknamed the Stifle Tower. I think with the league moving to a more perimeter oriented style that the opportunity to block 3 or 4 shots a game just isn't there anymore.

There's been a lot of talk of the Center position going by the wayside and I don't think that's entirely true but it has definitely changed. Gone are the days where Centers averaged 2 or more blocks a game and had the offense running through them in the post. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's there would regularly be a dozen or more players averaging 2 or more blocks a game but now that is sort of rarified ground. You got Centers like Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol who win Defensive Player of the Year despite not even cracking 2 blocks a game in their DPOY seasons. Gasol averaged 1.7 blocks a game and Tyson averaged just 1.4 in their DPOY seasons.

Hmm, this is a good point. But it might not be the actual block numbers that are so important as much as the amount of layups right in front of Ayton that matter. We will only see that with our eyes in all likelihood. Difficult to measure numerically.

 

[SirStefan32]

Yeah, I don't really care about his blocks. They are nice to see, but I am more interested in seeing him contest shots.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah, I don't really care about his blocks. They are nice to see, but I am more interested in seeing him contest shots.

Agreed. Blocks are nice but if Ayton can alter shots that can be just as effective.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah, I don't really care about his blocks. They are nice to see, but I am more interested in seeing him contest shots.

the two aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, they usually go hand in hand. It's what makes guys like Davis, Gobert, Capella and Embiid so effective. I'm not criticizing him for not being at their level right off the bat. That would be way to much to ask from a rookie. My issue is that he showed so little blocking or contesting shots, period. Right now, Ayton has a really long way to go to become proficient at either. Being out of the top 30 shot blockers in the game is pretty embarrassing for a guy with his size, strength and athleticism and I believe that stat does lean a little into his inability to rim protect.

On the perimeter, he's pretty damn good, especially for a big man. But he's got a very long way to go if he wants to be an anchor on D... like he claims he is, ala Kevin Garnett.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Agreed. Blocks are nice but if Ayton can alter shots that can be just as effective.

with his size, speed and athleticism, there's just no reason he shouldn't be able to do both.

 

[BC867]

with his size, speed and athleticism, there's just no reason he shouldn't be able to do both.

As has been posted, and in response to your point . . . with good coaching.

He's a Bahamian who played one year in college at Power Forward.

And now he's an NBA Center against a lot of tough competitors.

 

[Cheesebeef]

As has been posted, and in response to your point . . . with good coaching.

He's a Bahamian who played one year in college at Power Forward.

And now he's an NBA Center against a lot of tough competitors.

yes, that's all a problem as well. but he's got VERY LITTLE NATURAL instinct to be a good defender down low. He has the tools to improve, with good coaching, but I fear his lack of defensive instincts will limit his ceiling there.

 

[Western Font]

BlThe reason I mentioned Boban specifically is I remember that first matchup with the Clippers and Ayton looked shell shocked just seeing Boban enter the game. It was clear by his facial expressions that he'd never faced anyone like him and he even elaborated on that in the postgame. There were other matchups similar like when Jokic torched him in the 2nd or 3rd game of the year but since that was so early in the season I didn't hold that against Ayton because he's 2-3 games into being a pro at that point. Boban was a little different.

I think I remember in that first Mavs game when EJ expressed something similar by saying like “You don’t run into Deandre Jordan in college.” I think Ayton was intimidated on these situations, unlike Embiid who wanted to dominate from the outset. But I hope in a couple of years he will feel like he has that veteran edge.

 

[Mainstreet]

with his size, speed and athleticism, there's just no reason he shouldn't be able to do both.

We can only speculate, but I think the blocks will come in time. He is still learning the game.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think I remember in that first Mavs game when EJ expressed something similar by saying like “You don’t run into Deandre Jordan in college.” I think Ayton was intimidated on these situations, unlike Embiid who wanted to dominate from the outset. But I hope in a couple of years he will feel like he has that veteran edge.

It really depends on how competitive he is, how much he wants to be great, and how much he hates losing.

The great ones are all about that last one. It's not about loving to win as much about hating to lose.

 

[Hoop Head]

The great ones are all about that last one. It's not about loving to win as much about hating to lose.

That is a really good way to put that. I agree 100%. I think Booker has that outlook right now. Hopefully they're haunted by the losses this season all summer and use those to prepare for next year. I'm looking forward to see what sort of players Ayton and Bridges are after a summer of work. I think Bridges will show more improvement than anyone else, he's a smart player and now that he knows what he's dealing with he should be able to work accordingly to be more prepared out the gate next season.