Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams has previously said that Deandre Ayton’s body looked “unbelievable” in practice for the NBA restart.
His mid-range moves also look pretty damn good.
The Suns released Ayton’s video while working on his mid-range game against Cheick Diallo and Dario Saric. Ayton first took Diallo off the dribble for a lay-up and hit a tipper baseline jumper on Saric,
He then hit another jumper on Diallo after a dribbling and executed a dribbling spin move on Saric which ended in a fade jumper.
The last three clips show Ayton connecting on two jumpers on Saric and the last clip is led by Diallo for the crush with one hand.
Now these are clips put together in a video. There are no missing shots footage because they are highlights, not all lights. But if Ayton can bring these quick and explosive moves into the games, it will bring a different dynamic to the Suns’ attack in the restart of the NBA which starts on July 31 for Phoenix (25-39) against Washington (24-40).
Ayton mainly shot the sweater when he faced a defender. He didn’t show this element of his game, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t always in his arsenal.
What the video also shows is who might not be in Orlando alone. I’m not sure when the video was shot. It could have been Wednesday, or in a previous practice.
You can cut, edit and put together video clips on a phone app or on a video program like Adobe Premiere Pro. Speaking from personal experience, it takes time.
With that in mind, I didn’t see Aron Baynes, Ricky Rubio, Mikal Bridges, Elie Okobo, Jalen Lecque or Tariq Owens in the background of the video, nor did I see a photo of them in the Orlando team’s tweets.
Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr., Cam Johnson, Ty Jerome, Jevon Carter, Cameron Payne, Frank Kaminsky III, Ayton, Saric and Diallo are present.
Kaminsky did an interview from the bubble on Sirius XM which is classic.
So there are definitely 10 guys. The other six on the roster?
I’m not so sure
It doesn’t mean they’re not in Orlando. I have never seen them in photos or videos or in interviews from players or Williams on the matter of practices.
You would think Baynes would defend Ayton too, would you? It seemed like a big exercise with Ayton, Saric and Diallo.
Suns chief executive James Jones made it clear before the team left for Orlando on July 7 that some guys would show up “later.”
So you know that all of them didn’t make the initial trip to Orlando, but Williams has been quite anxious about who’s been there since the team arrived.
Asked Tuesday for an update on who is practicing, Williams said, “I don’t want to get into those particular problems. There are so many medical things that I don’t want to violate.”
At the same time, he talked about the knee injury and the rehabilitation of Oubre Jr.
Could you assume it has something to do with COVID-19? The teams rely on the players to reveal that they have the virus, but NBA and NBPA have given updated numbers on who has tested positive.
NBA and NBPA revealed in a joint press release Monday 19 NBA players tested positive for the virus during “in-market” tests as of July 1st.
“These players remain in the home markets and are recovering until they are approved under the CDC guidelines and NBA rules to get out of isolation and join the Campus,” concluded the press release.
Booker talked about how to enjoy the competition by playing 3-on-3, 4-on-4 and 5-on-5. Wondering if the coaches participate in those 5 out of 5 sessions?
As Williams has said in the past, assistants give “sweaty equity” in working with players. I have seen Willie Green and Steve Blake playing 1 on 1 with players in the past.
I don’t like to speculate because you can be fooled. Eventually, the roster will reveal themselves once the games have started, but I’m sure Ayton has another element of his game that could trigger on restart.
Do you have an opinion on the current state of the suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter on @DuaneRankin.
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