The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 119-103 win over the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Thursday. The much-maligned Deandre Ayton impressed on the night, and Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised the big man in his postgame press conference.
“He played fantastic,” Redick said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “The third quarter, he was just dominant. A lot of that was very targeted because we were playing through the post, and Draymond [Green] was going to overhelp, and DA had his proper spacing. That touch shot for him at 8-10 feet, it’s just a high efficiency shot for him. I thought he played fantastic throughout the game, but the third quarter, he was dominant for us.”
Ayton had 21 points (9-11 FG), five rebounds, one assist, and one block against the Warriors in 31 minutes. Of those 21 points, 12 came in the third quarter as the 27-year-old stamped his authority on the contest.
This was more of what you wanted to see from Ayton once Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with injuries. He had previously complained about his role in the offense, claiming the Lakers were trying to turn him into Clint Capela.
Ayton later accepted his role, but the Lakers now needed him to step into a bigger one with Doncic and Reaves out of the picture. The early results weren’t all too positive, though.
Ayton had 13 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block in the Lakers’ 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Redick even benched him in the fourth quarter, opting to close the game with Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber. That’s not a good sign.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Ayton followed up that performance by recording three points (1-4 FG), three rebounds, and one block in the 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. After the game, Redick said they had run plays for him, but he wasn’t able to catch the ball.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Ayton took advantage of the opportunities presented to him this time around against the Warriors. Redick would be hoping for more of the same moving forward.
Udonis Haslem’s Words Of Encouragement For Deandre Ayton
Ayton has gotten a whole lot of criticism this season, and a fair bit of it has been deserved. That Capela comment especially didn’t go down well, with former NBA player Udonis Haslem among the many who ripped him for it. Haslem also wasn’t a fan of Ayton openly saying he isn’t “that guy” and had some words of encouragement for him on Nightcap on NBA on Prime.
“I read a statement that you made a few weeks ago,” Haslem said. “And I understand where you was going, but I want you to know that you are still that guy. You have to shift your focus a little bit, and there’s other things that you have to do to help this team win, but you are still that guy. It’s just in a different role. So you still need to approach these games as that guy in a different role and contribute to winning.
“But don’t change the way you see yourself, the way you view yourself, or the way you perceive yourself,” Haslem continued. “You’re that guy. Shift your focus. Focus on different things and help that team win. You think [LeBron James] changed the way he see himself ’cause he went to the third option? Hell no. You do not change the way you view yourself.
“You approach the game with the same confidence, but shift your focus a little bit, and keep doing what you’re doing,” Haslem added.
That was brilliant on Haslem’s part. It’s good to see a former player who isn’t just constantly criticizing the ones who are playing today. You’d hope Ayton takes these words to heart.
The Lakers improved to 51-29 with this win over the Warriors and will take on the Phoenix Suns next at Crypto.com Arena on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
