In his latest masterpiece, Nikola Jokic dropped 39 points and 16 rebounds to give the Nuggets a 2-0 lead over the new-look Suns, who will be fighting to avoid an 0-3 deficit later tonight.
In the first two games against Phoenix, Jokic has been going off and the Suns have had absolutely no answers. Specifically, it’s Deandre Ayton who has underperformed as his play on both ends has been limited to an extreme degree. Things got so bad after Game 2, that Stephen A. Smith felt compelled to call Ayton into action on First Take this morning.
“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?”
🗣️ Stephen A Smith just called out Deandre Ayton and Monty Williams on @FirstTake – do you agree with his take? pic.twitter.com/Irc2s9xKRC
— Fenix Fits (@FenixFits) May 5, 2023
Ayton has a good track record of defending Jokic, but he hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in this series. Even with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker leading the way, Phoenix’s lack of depth has made it so that they need guys like Ayton and Chris Paul to contribute in some way for them to win.
So far, Ayton has just not been good enough and the Suns are going to have to hope he comes out better tonight if they want to keep their title hopes alive.
Does Ayton Have A Long-Term Future In Phoenix?
The Suns don’t have enough right now to survive without Ayton on the court but there are rumblings that they could look to replace him in the summer for a player who can regularly perform when needed.
“No excuses for missing them baby jumpers,” said Shaq on Ayton after a game in January. “You got to dominate! You’re the biggest guy out there. They’re not doubling you like, Chuck, got doubled. They’re not tripling you like Shaq got tripled. You’re one-on-one. You publically say that ‘Hey I’d like to be more involved,’ you having fights with the coach and other players. When you get your chance to be involved you have to dominate.”
We will see how Ayton responds tonight, but this is a must-win for the Suns. To go down 0-3 and be tasked with winning four games in a row against a dominant Nuggets team borders on impossible.
But if Deandre can step up and help make life easier for KD and Book, it might just be enough to stave off another loss.
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