Ayton uses his size and strength to box out Rudy, and even though Deandre isnt the one who is credited for the rebound, the team obtains possession. After defending Anthony Edwards in Round 1, KCP will get another crack at an explosive scorer at the shooting guard position. Giannis Antetokounmpo's block is one of NBA Finals' greatest defensive And if you think Zubac appears comfortable posting up against smaller Suns defenders, boy, wait until you see how Nikola Joki looks in that setting. for No. Which is really really good. pic.twitter.com/bVuHPGrlo3. Keeping its non-Joki small-ball units on the floor as much as possible is also in Denver's best interest. But two of those matchups occurred before Phoenix acquired Durant. Denver must force someone else to beat them other than Durant or Booker. Defense isnt sexy. The Deandre Ayton experience can be frustrating. His defensive rating per 100 possessions is the best of his career, proving to be a slam dunk addition by general manager James Jones last offseason. The Seven Seconds of Less era truly revolutionized the way way the game is played. Yet despite its occasional clunkiness, the Suns are scoring the second-most halfcourt points per 100 possessions in the postseason, a reflection of the baseline level of absurd offensive talent on the roster. Deandre Ayton has a defensive rating of 110.9 this season. Ayton isn't the primary reason for that ascendance.. Ayton, the No. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/OH/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500(VA). Filter or search to find players. Arizona has forced only 11.8 turnovers per game, and that includes three games against overmatched . You have to be physical but not too physical, finesse but not exploitable. I'm so tired. Hes averaging 37.2 points in the postseason and coming off a 47-point cooking of the Clippers in Game 5 closeout that tied a career playoff high. His defensive rating (a fairly complicated calculation designed to provide an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions, so lower is better) is 109 this season, which is up from 105 last season. But Malone's job goes beyond just dictating defensive coverages. Using Gordon and Jeff Green at center was even more effective against Minnesota. The likes of Luka, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Zion have all switched into Ayton at some point this year. Hes only going to get better. Shoots: Phoenix appeared a beat slow on its defensive switches throughout the series against LA. That strategy sure looks good when Booker runs pick-and-roll and Durant gets a corner three while his man rotates over to Ayton. Blitzing is a great way to get the ball out of Booker and Durant's hands when they run pick-and-roll. Game Recap: Suns eclipsed by hot Nuggets, fall 125-107. Deandre Ayton Reportedly Placed in COVID-19 Health - Bleacher Report DeAndre Jordan is 34 years old. Is Deandre Ayton really a good defender? : r/nbadiscussion - Reddit How and when Malone alternates his defensive coverages could greatly dictate the flow of games. Paul, Booker, and Durant are all lethal midrange scorers and utilize specific moves like the "snake dribble" to find windows of opportunity against dropping big men. The Suns and Nuggets faced off four times in the regular season, splitting the series 2-2. Nuggets coach Michael Malone and Williams established a culture that has been the foundation for the success of their teams. With Ayton securing the. There is an expectation that the 2018 #1 overall draft pick should be creating plays worthy of being printed on posters. The team's most recent championship series appearance was in the 2021 NBA Finals when they were defeated by the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. He scored 46 versus the Suns in the 2018-19 season and averaged 28.3 in four games against them in 2019-20 season. Booker is quick and strong, but he'll need to be at the top of his defensive game to keep pace with Denver's electric point guard. Make those guys beat you and lean into interchangeability at all five positions when Joki sits. The key stats to watch here are personal fouls and turnovers. He recorded a 105 defensive rating on the year, and he does a solid job of protecting the rim. Personal fouls: Suns 21.2 (10th), Nuggets 23.0 (15th). Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Ayton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in the game. Malone will be in the driver's seat for all of them. Blitzing will be key for the Nuggets. I play both ends of the floor. All rights reserved. We like to call that gathering place, Twitter. That rings twice as true for backup center, Bismack Biyombo. Teams are looking to rebound any missed field goal, get the ball out, and run. "I really don't care about offense. Booker, Paul, and Durant are all too experienced and too talented to see one style of defense over and over and over. Their 21-5 streak, after stumbling to an 8-8 start, is the best record in the league since late January. With just over 5:08 left in the first half, Ayton was shown watching Kevin Durant battle with Nikola Jokic for a rebound instead of coming to his teammate's aid by trying to secure the rebound himself. What? Suns vs. Nuggets odds. There are a lot of NBA fans that have probably recently heard about Deandre Ayton's improvement on defense. inNassau,Bahamas Murray then scored 31 on the Suns in 2020-21 season. Here's why Kevin Durant, Devin Booker will lead Phoenix Suns past Suns drop to 3rd best title odds as Warriors advance to second round. Nope, I run on Tesla battery. Will Porter Jr. be used as a secondary defender against Booker and Durant in the pick-and-roll or in the post? The Suns entered Fridays playoff games last in bench points per game at 14.4 points. Read more about how our RAPTOR player ratings work, or download this data. NBA.com: Suns' Ayton, McGee enter 2022 as top-10 rim protectors Will that lead to Suns coach Monty Williams playing Durant and Booker less? and Deandre Ayton is not the best defensive big man in the world (he ranks around the 68th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks and Threes). Ayton can feast against both of these strategies. Deandre Ayton /// Stats /// Cleaning the Glass PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 25: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston . This early in the season we could still be dealing with a bit of an anomaly that will smooth out with time. But Jokic, whom he was responsible for guarding for a lot of the night, had 24 points and 19. (45-37, 4th place in NBA Western Conference), Next Game: Preview Playoffs 2023 - Denver Nuggets (1) vs Phoenix Suns (4) How often do we see this play in the NBA? As a team, the Nuggets are shooting the fourth-best three-point percentage in the postseason. Deandre Ayton Proving To Be Worth Max Deal For Phoenix Suns Deandre's commitment to being an anchor on defense has been a primary contributing factor to the Suns' success early on this year. Boston's Kyrie Irving was regarded as a slightly above-average defender by RPM last year, for instance. Ayton isnt there yet, but he is showing that the game is slowing down for him. They stress defense and scoring in transition. DeandreAyton It's abundantly clear to anyone who has seen Deandre Ayton perform that he is a high-level NBA prospect. Guys will bump into each other in scripted actions due to a lack of familiarity. Deandre Ayton's evolution steals spotlight in Suns statement win in 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton on Friday night at the NBA summer league in Las . Explore all Phoenix Suns NBA player stats - including scoring, rebounding, shooting, assists & more! Bridges takes a chance on this play and is beat by Mike Conley (granted, he was preparing for a high pick and roll with Rudy Gobert, so he set himself to defend in that manner). Ayton is at 51.1%, a career-high and major . Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. We may yearn for Domin-Ayton on the offensive end, slamming the ball through the cylinder with authority and ferocity, our Twitter notifications going wild as we celebrate the offensive greatness that is DA. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Nuggets wing Bruce Brown is probably the best bench player of both teams. He has a vertical approach to his defense; he jumps straight up and allows players to attempt to occupy his space. More: 'Going to be fun': Deandre Ayton looking forward to matchup with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic Altitude, minutes and Suns bench: Durant and Booker averaged 44 and 43.2 minutes in the Clippers. 2022-2023 Game Log The Suns, meanwhile, bolstered their roster tremendously at the trade deadline by adding two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant via a blockbuster deal. Teams use switches constantly to create favorable mismatches for their offense. Jalen Brunson, Dallas . Please enter a valid email and try again. Mike Conley gets nailed by Joki's screen, so Gobert "hedges" out to Murray to stop his dribble. Below is Phoenix Suns' 2K full team roster. Points per game: Suns 122 (2nd), Nuggets 114.2 (9th). The Clippers did this numerous times in the first round whenever Ayton set a ball screen for Durant or Booker. Seeing Jokic get 19 rebounds (11 offensive) in the game, while the Suns center only had seven total rebounds (two offensive) is bound to create more chatter around him. https://t.co/9DCUJpkfTJ. "He's notone-dimensional. Deandres commitment to being an anchor on defense has been a primary contributing factor to the Suns success early on this year. The acquisition of Durant meant Ayton's role changed again. He thought wrong. His frame and high release point on his shot make him unguardable, and he's crafted a snazzy dribbling package over the years to get to his favorite spots on the court at will. Denver and Phoenix each boast high-powered offenses with Hall of Fame hubs commandeering things, so there's a good chance this series becomes a bit of a shootout. Double Booker, Durant is unleashed. 2021 Western Conference semifinals (Suns won in four). Calculating Trade Value. You know, role players. Sign up for the deandreayton, Position: Just turned up a notch.. I think he just hears it from a little bit of everybody, Booker said. He didnt dunk it! When we set the shot distance to six feet or less, we can get a good idea of how often a player is defending shots in the paint, and what the outcome of those shots has been. Center of the Sun: The Rubio mentality, next-level Booker, and respect. Data Provided By Just being a force, Booker said. Ayton later addressed the notion he lacks a motor, as his critics have come out in high volume on his play in the series. Deandre Ayton was drafted by Phoenix Suns, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 2018 NBA Draft. Support local journalism. Ayton can also play with way too much finesse as a finisher. We all have the same objective and thats to win the game. 16.3 shots per game, 44%, 4.1% below shooter averages. Not bad, to be clear, but it feels like there's another level for him on this iteration of the Phoenix Suns. The more he focuses on excelling, the better he will be. 'Going to be fun': Deandre Ayton looking forward to matchup with two The main struggles the Suns have faced have been on the defensive side of things, as they have averaged nearly 117 PPG through this stretch. The battle on the boards is also worth keeping an eye on. Some other big men known for great defense, like Gobert and Joel Embiid, are also appearing to have less impressive performances on that end so far this season. The Pick: Deandre Ayton Over 10.5 Rebounds (-137) -- I've faded Deandre Ayton's rebounds prop in the past, but you simply can't argue with the results of late. All rights reserved. More importantly, they could not stop the LA Clippers in Round 1, who were without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for most of the series. You get to push guys around and you get to jump over people. Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne come to mind first, but Damion Lee, T.J. Warren or Terrence Ross may get a shot, too. Currently, they're on the heels of a convincing 4-1 defeat over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. . It is due to this desire for highlight-worthy content that I feel Deandre Ayton gets a bad rap from the casual Suns fan (and sometimes the not-so-casual fan as well). Got to protect the rim. He is continuing to learn, to read what the opposition is doing, and to execute what he sees. 16. by John Wilmes. Yes, Gobert gobbles up to board and Crowder makes the foul, but the end result is Rudy on the line rather than a lay-up for Conley. Ayton has posted a double-double in back-to-back contests, and the Suns have claimed a 2-1 lead over the Clippers after dropping Game 1. 5 DFGA). Deandre Ayton Needs To Star In His Role - RealGM Analysis They improve to 29-13 for the season, good for second-best in the Western Conference. It's also available for football, hockey and baseball. Additional contributions by Neil Paine. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Not to mention the fact that his performance came against an All-Star caliber forward/center in Bam Adebayo. Craig will have his hands full with Porter Jr.'s movement shooting, who shot 42.4 percent from three in the first round. He has Chris Paul, a career 37.5 percent three-pointer shooter, open at the left wing but instead hoists a midrange shot that misses. "It gives those guys spaces like KD (Kevin Durant), Chris (Paul) and Book (Devin Booker), they do the rest. The 6'11" center stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. The third-year center continues to develop into an interior force. As mentioned earlier, Denver should absolutely explore blitzing Phoenix's pick-and-rolls with Booker and Durant to get the ball out of their hands. Suns coach Monty Williams has repeatedly said Deandre Ayton is finding ways to impact winning in this first round series against the Clippers. He's a fantastic spot-up option, as well, but there are more ways to utilize Durant within an offense. It's also a great way to test the decision-making of Deandre Ayton, which is a gamble absolutely worth taking for the Nuggets (more on this in a second). Start your online subscription. The Phoenix Suns Can Build An Unbeatable Team This Summer: Russell After the Suns declined to sign Ayton to a five-year, rookie-scale max extension before the 2021-22 season, restricted free agency is now on the horizon for the athletic big man. Ranking the top 30 NBA free agents in 2022 - NBC Sports Washington - RSN . Deandre Ayton has a defensive rating of 109.4 in his career. Have opinion about current state of theSuns? But it may be evidence Ayton is peaking, which if true is something worth thinking about. As a center you see plenty of these sets run right at you nightly. Room for growth exists, however, as his adjusted box out rate is in the 61st percentile. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Devin Booker's defense could clash with Jamal Murray in Suns-Nuggets In his ball-screen coverage, he can do a lot of different things because he moves so well, and we're trying to exploit that," Suns veteran Jae Crowder said postgame. The Phoenix Suns dropped from best odds to win the West to 3rd best, despite still being 2nd best to win the whole league. As special as Jokic is, Durant is more proven in the postseason. Willie stays high on this play, creating an iso-situation between Ayton and Luka. That not debatable with a player who is 7-foot-1, 260 pounds, freakishly athletic and . Yeah, me neither. There are times when Ayton struggles within his new rolea role that's narrow but requires him to excel at the finer details of the game. Yet it wasnt the Wardens play that caught my eye. Ranking The Top 10 Best Candidates For The 2021-22 Defensive Player Of Check out this Caesars Sportsbook promo code for April 2023 here. Deandre Ayton /// Stats /// Cleaning the Glass Void in ONT. Denver has kicked things into high gear in the postseason and ranks fifth in defensive rating after finishing just 17th during the regular season. Call (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelpline.ma.org (MA), Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). As such, there are moments when the Suns appear out of sync. Its important to communicate., Ayton even joked that his two-year old son of the same name gave him an earful about it, but he has responded in averaging 12.3 boards in the last three games of the series. A lot of the talk about Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton has been about his point and rebound totals. And while some fans will (and arguably should) continue to ask more domination from Dominayton, Im more interested in his defense at the moment. He'll take fadeaway jumpers against smaller defenders that he can simply overwhelm. The anchor of the defense mirrors the responsibilities of a middle linebacker: call out what you see and direct your resources towards your teams weaknesses. Splits Overall, Ayton this season is defending 13.9 shots per game and holding opponents to 48% shooting: 1.1% below where they would expect to be. Toutefois, Jokic a semble-t-il trouv comment grer ce match-up , en atteste son match susmentionn : 41pts, 15rbds, 15asts. We get it. How tall is DeAndre Jordan? Game Recap: Suns eclipsed by hot Nuggets, fall 125-107. Phoenix, meanwhile, has taken things up another level in the playoffs with Durant in the fold. Here's an example of what that looks like from the Timberwolves series. Monte Morris thought that isolating himself against the third-year center from the University of Arizona was a good idea. What is exciting is his growth. The Suns' Offense Is Playing in the Past - Sports Illustrated Time and again Ayton has displayed the capacity to force smaller guards into shots theyd rather not take. Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, Draft: The Suns are still among the best defensive teams in the NBA, but statistics seem to show that Ayton hasnt been the force he was last season. 4/30 Suns center Deandre Ayton is confident that Phoenix will rebound after its 125-107 blowout loss to the higher-seeded Nuggets in Game 1 of their second-round matchup, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. home/away, monthly, etc More Deandre Ayton Basketball Reference pages, 2022-23 Suns Deandre Ayton is on Twitter at DeandreAyton. More than likely, the Nuggets will mix and match coverages to throw Phoenix off the scent. "Blitzing" against the pick-and-roll should also get a lengthy look. Find out more. It's an odd. Deandre Ayton stood there at one point watching Nikola Jokic play tip drill on the rim. Whats scary about Durant is hes played just 13 games with Phoenix and the Suns have won 12 of them. In this style of pick-and-roll defense, the big man just outright double-teams the ball-handler. Monday, May 1st vs Deandre Edoneille Ayton A Better Way To Evaluate NBA Defense | FiveThirtyEight newsletter. A season ago, the trio of Western Conference stars combined for a total of 61 games due to injuries. Even. Twice in the first half, Phoenix set screens at the elbow for Durant to curl off and dribble into midrange jumpers. He's averaged 20.3 points a game on 69.6% shooting, plus grabbed 13.5 rebounds a game, but it's more than the . He also appears to be lagging last years pace on defensive win shares, which purport to estimate player impact contributed due to defense. Eligibility restrictions apply. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. DeAndre Jordan - Basketball-Reference.com Gambling Problem? LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Suns vs Rockets . He appeared to be tentative in early contests against the Mavericks and Kings, but by the time the Suns played the Nuggets, Deandre was using his size and physicality to move the opposition off of their spots. But that's the best-case scenario. Chris Paul and Kevin Durant preparing in Denver, 'Going to be fun': Deandre Ayton looking forward to matchup with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Suns-Nuggets: Nikola Jokic needs NBA title to take spot alongside MVPs like LeBron, Jordan, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The Suns have looked just as comfortable finding the open man against zone defenses in the postseason. He could be frustrated, but he wasnt. College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. Their 33-point loss was the worst defeat at home in a Game 7 since the St. Louis Bombers lost by 39 in 1948. The responsibility of a center no longer is to crash the offensive boards. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Ayton holds his ground however, not falling for the sudden change of direction, and follows him down the lane. And its getting ugly. Usage rate is an estimate of how often a player contributes to the outcome of a play. The Raptors would bolster their weaknesses by acquiring Deandre Ayton Figures displayed are rounded to the nearest tenth, but placement along the line is based on unrounded RAPTOR or WAR values. Luka Doncic uses a high screen set by Willie Cauley-Stein in an effort to switch out of the pesky defense of Bridges. Statistical model by Nate Silver. Denver's defensive alignments should look oddly similar to how they matched up with Minnesota in the first round.