- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,152,173
- Reaction score
- 59
There have been times this season when Deandre Ayton has played relatively well and been a factor in the Los Angeles Lakers' success. Of course, there have also been times this season when he has seemingly coasted and been a virtual non-factor in plenty of games.
This inconsistency in Ayton's effort, energy and overall production was something that was widely known about him when the team signed him in free agency this past summer. Yet Lakers fans, at times, have blamed a good part of the team's shortcomings on him and his spotty output.
In Tuesday's 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he played 23 minutes and only got off four shot attempts while finishing with a meager three points and three rebounds. With Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes all out of action, there was no excuse for Ayton not to be aggressive offensively, win or lose.
Coach JJ Redick was asked about a statement he made on Saturday that he was going to ask Ayton to do some things differently. He responded with a curious statement about one thing the big man has had trouble with.
Redick saying three times that Ayton has had issues catching the basketball is concerning. Right now, the Lakers need an all-hands-on-deck effort with Doncic and Reaves out for at least the next few weeks, and Ayton, with the varied skills he has offensively, needs to step things up significantly.
His 8.2 field-goal attempts a game this season are by far a career low for him, and he's averaging an underwhelming 12.2 points and eight rebounds in 27.1 minutes a game. When L.A. is healthy, he's its fourth option offensively, but for at least the next few weeks, he needs to play up to his full potential to get the team a shot at getting past the first round of the playoffs.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick's explanation for Deandre Ayton's lack of touches and points
Continue reading...
This inconsistency in Ayton's effort, energy and overall production was something that was widely known about him when the team signed him in free agency this past summer. Yet Lakers fans, at times, have blamed a good part of the team's shortcomings on him and his spotty output.
In Tuesday's 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he played 23 minutes and only got off four shot attempts while finishing with a meager three points and three rebounds. With Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes all out of action, there was no excuse for Ayton not to be aggressive offensively, win or lose.
Coach JJ Redick was asked about a statement he made on Saturday that he was going to ask Ayton to do some things differently. He responded with a curious statement about one thing the big man has had trouble with.
Redick saying three times that Ayton has had issues catching the basketball is concerning. Right now, the Lakers need an all-hands-on-deck effort with Doncic and Reaves out for at least the next few weeks, and Ayton, with the varied skills he has offensively, needs to step things up significantly.
His 8.2 field-goal attempts a game this season are by far a career low for him, and he's averaging an underwhelming 12.2 points and eight rebounds in 27.1 minutes a game. When L.A. is healthy, he's its fourth option offensively, but for at least the next few weeks, he needs to play up to his full potential to get the team a shot at getting past the first round of the playoffs.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick's explanation for Deandre Ayton's lack of touches and points
Continue reading...
