Center Deandre Ayton is regarded as one of the best big men in the league, and he is well known for his athleticism and interior scoring. He was the No. 3 scoring option behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker for the Phoenix Suns during the regular season, and many consider him a key piece for the franchise.
Despite his talent and ability, Deandre Ayton struggled in Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets, finishing with 4 points and 9 rebounds, while also getting benched in the late stages of the game. After the game, Devin Booker delivered an honest take on Deandre Ayton’s benching, noting that “energy and effort always has to be high”, but adding that it is his job to “pump” the big man up.
“Energy and effort always has to be high, especially around this time,” Booker said. “You can’t get flustered, you can’t get in your own head, and I could see that with him (Ayton) a little bit tonight, so that’s my job to just pump him up.”
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There’s no doubt that the Phoenix Suns will need more out of Deandre Ayton if they are to win the championship this season. He has far too much talent to perform as he did in Game 3, and we’ll see if he manages to bounce back.
In the playoffs thus far, Deandre Ayton has averaged 14.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 0.6 BPG for the Phoenix Suns. Though he has been okay overall, the Suns will need more scoring from him, and hopefully, we see him show his offensive ability in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets.
Stephen A. Smith Called Out Deandre Ayton For Getting Embarrassed By Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic has been having a stellar series against the Phoenix Suns thus far, averaging 31.0 PPG, 17.3 RPG, and 9.0 APG in 3 games. Stephen A. Smith recently called out Deandre Ayton for letting that happen, even claiming that Jokic is “abusing” and embarrassing” Ayton.
“What the hell is going on with Deandre Ayton? You don’t have a pulse? Jokic is giving it to this brother. He is shooting 50% with 37 points in two games being guarded by Deandre Ayton. Do you not have something to say about that? You’re not some novice, you’ve been around a little while. This man is abusing you, he’s embarrassing you, do something about it. 39 and 16 in Game 2, just wobbling up the court doing whatever the wants to do and busting your you know what. What the hell is that about?”
Though there is no big man that can truly stop Nikola Jokic, it is fair to say that Deandre Ayton has the athletic tools and the defensive ability to at least slow him down a little bit.
The Phoenix Suns will definitely need to find a way to slow down Nikola Jokic to win the series against the Denver Nuggets. It will be primarily up to Deandre Ayton to make that happen, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
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