Deandre Ayton, soon the outbreak?

Certainly designated in the first five of the rookies last year with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 against average, DeAndre Ayton had not yet necessarily convinced all the skeptics.

This season looked set to continue the trend, with a 25-game entry suspension after testing positive for a diuretic. To make matters worse, back in mid-December, Ayton will injure his ankle and resume for 5 games.

Despite all these detours, the Bahamian pivot of the Suns ends his second season with 18 points, more than 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 against average. A production still as solid within a team of Suns which found colors under the leadership of Monty Williams.

Consistency and defense

Phoenix even seems to have found the right fuel, as illustrated by its end of the season in the bubble with 8 wins in a row. In which Ayton participated, but again not up to his talent with 15 points and 9 rebounds “only” …

“He must gain consistency so I am always after him, giving him advice”, sings Aron Baynes. “He’s so much more athletic than I am but I can help him understand what he can do on the pitch and how he can have a bigger impact, especially in defense. He is so big and strong that he can already challenge and change the opponent’s shots, even when he is not in the best positions. If we can get him more involved on this side of the pitch, that will help us enormously. “

This was in this case the site on which Ayton worked this season. With Mark Bryant, the former racket supporter passed by the Blazers and Suns in the 90s, as a mentor in the staff, Ayton was watched like milk on fire in defense. And the project takes shape.

“He’s very good at protecting the circle, and he’s starting to talk more”, confirme Mark Bryant. “As a pivot, you see everything that happens and you have to communicate with your teammates in defense, warn your backs of what is happening. From the start of the season until the bubble, he has improved a lot. “

In the “Breakthrough” series produced by the Suns, Ayton is indeed seen speaking a lot in defense. “When he’s in good shape, he makes the game easy for everyone”, lance Monty Williams.

“One-and-done” in Arizona, the great Deandre is still pretty rough. He certainly has certain innate physical qualities for him, such as his speed of feet which allows him to find his place quickly and keep the distance against the opposing full-backs, a great explosiveness to protect the circle, but he is also a very good finisher on the lobs. The only thing missing is consistency …

“It’s a mental thing with him”, says Kelly Oubre Jr. “He can do this all the time. I think he had that click and now he understands that he has to be a monster under the panels for the team to be strong. “

Clear progress

With his first career game at 20 points – 20 rebounds (26 and 21 in this case), on the MSG floor in New York, Ayton however showed signs of progress at the end of his second season. In February, he did it again with two outings at 28 points and 19 rebounds and 8 games in doubles doubles out of 11 outings.

“I’m happy for him but I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg”, blows Devin Booker. “I think it can become something he does every night. I know his potential, I know what he is capable of, when his game is in place. We know that he needs a learning phase but I think that over the time he has had this season, he has shown that he is progressing game after game and that he understands better and better how it works. [en NBA]. »

Empowered by Coach Williams, Ayton also has teammates to count on to grow and progress. When Frank Kaminsky sees him as a potential All Star, the hubby with big biscotos admits to loving the Croatian influence of his teammate Dario Saric.

“This guy doesn’t look like that but he’s very beefy, and very smart too. I see this guy every day, especially during the bubble, and started picking up stuff that he does. I try to follow what he does and learn from him. “

As Arizona Central explained recently, Ayton has fans of the Suns fantasizing, but he has yet to repeat his productions with regularity. Lack of aggression or concentration, Ayton clearly has the talent in store to become a domineering player, and move the Suns into the upper class (that of teams regularly in the playoffs).

If the comparison with Luka Doncic, who followed him in No. 3 of the 2018 Draft, is clearly disadvantageous to him (let’s not talk about Marvin Bagley), DeAndre Ayton still has time to rebalance the debate with more seriousness in his preparation and a more aggressive mentality on the boards. But the boy is still only 22 years old.