Deandre Ayton hasn’t, by any means, had a good series against the Denver Nuggets. While Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have been balling their hearts out in the absence of Chris Paul, Ayton has been a shell of himself, struggling to put up a fight against Nikola Jokic.
Even though guarding Jokic is no joke, Ayton has been criticized for his lack of intensity and effort on the court. During Game 5, one fan noticed that the player just gave up on his team mid-game.
*UNSEEN* DeAndre Ayton Leaves Suns Huddle After Devin Booker Tells Him “If He Wants To Win” & Kevin Durant To “Get The Ball”😬 pic.twitter.com/q3EXO4UxRQ
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) May 10, 2023
After Ayton was hit by Jamal Murray in the stomach or a lower area, he stayed on defense while the offense tried to score. He was feeling some sort of pain and was unable to move properly. However, he was able to try to contest a shot from afar.
Devin Booker had some things to say to his team, and he told Kevin Durant he wanted to see more effort from him. After that, KD told Ayton that he needed to get the ball, but the big man wasn’t having any of that and left the team’s huddle while Booker was giving some indications to his teammates.
It’s pretty clear that things aren’t going well with the Suns. They have struggled to keep up with the Nuggets, and Ayton has been responsible for a lot of that. Of course, it’s not easy to go against Jokic, but the issues go beyond that.
Deandre Ayton Has Been Criticized For His Lack Of Effort
Devin Booker called him out for his lack of energy, which prompted Monty Williams to bench him in Game 3. Ayton was seemingly mad at that, but the only solution to that is giving what the team is asking him.
He could leave the Suns this offseason, as he’s been mentioned as a potential target for the Dallas Mavericks, but other teams could also see everything going on in Phoenix right now to try to lure him away.
Ayton wanted to leave Phoenix before they matched the Indiana Pacers’ offer, and now they’re stuck with a player who shows no desire to play hard and gets mad when people call him out over that.
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