Deandre Ayton Discussion: This Is A Platform I Can't Run From

This cat shoots 5-6% better from mid range than KD and DDR .... 51% >>> 45-46%. How bout them apples? According to this guy doing this breakdown. Go Big A. JJ stop hating the mid range game LOL.

 

@Kobeluka99 .... for being way out in front on this.

 

Let’s not celebrate yet.
He’s going to help, but let’s pump the brakes until we see how well he does after the first 30 games or so.

 

He’s going to be great here …. pedal to the metal.

 

i think the video sort of doesn't understand some of the (good) arguments against midrange shots. like, the guy is really missing the point that taking away a luka layup or an ayton dunk or an open three is way better than an ayton midrange, even if he hit more than 60% of them.

the key is whether ayton can become a secondary playmaker on the roll, imo. if he can take a dribble and hit a floater or hit a cutting rui/lebron or an open reaves in the corner, that's all worth way more than if he pulls the trigger on an elbow jumper.

now, i do like that if the offense fully breaks down, the opposing team will leave ayton to just shoot a set 15 footer (one of the clips has that happening), which basically salvages a dead possession with a 50/50 shot instead of a 30/70 like most results of good defense.

so his midrange game has value, but it's being oversold here. i'm guessing jj will take the same attitude towards it that other teams did, despite the video guy's insistence that we'll do it differently.

i think the difference won't be strategic or letting ayton cook or whatever. we'll ask him to do what we asked of hayes, and he's more equipped to handle when defenses adjust. like, if they throw a small on ayton, we'll just clear out and count on a bucket. throw a small on hayes...meh...you're probably looking to get back on d.

 

I think that video is AI. Something about the narrator's voice isn't quite right.

 

Agree. And JJ is highly analytical. He doesn't prohibit mid range shots like Houston (as he shouldn't when all our lineup is good at the mid J) but he doesn't scheme for it and prefers a paint shot or a 3.
Ayton's ability in the mid range just opens more possibilities and keeps the defense guessing.

 

I’m excited for this year in part because of Ayton. He has the talent and ability to be a 2nd option to Luka once LeBron retires. I don’t know whether he’ll make good on that, but this is his best chance.

Regardless of that, he’s just so much better than Hayes.

 

I suggest cautiousness with Ayton. He can be polarizing.
I think we got him in the perfect situation, he had some success early in Phoenix, had Indiana making a big offer for him that Phoenix matched and gave him a big payday. But then he was in trade talks all the time, eventually got traded and played in a team that didn't want to win. All the way he was never loved in any team and has shown severe lack of effort multiple times.
He needs to rehab his value and needs to perform to do so, his wallet depends on that. He's in the best team to do it, will play all the minutes he can at 5 and have Luka, Bron and AR to serve him. I will be very disappointed if it doesn't turn a switch for him, but there's a reason his season went down instead of up. Hope he's changing that this year

 

Did Aytons mom commission this video lol?

There is a reason people get annoyed at his game including the mid range game. His free throw rate sucks versus the league average so that feeds the notion that he's simply not aggressive enough and he settles

 

Would have been great if AD hadn't lost his ability to consistently knock down mid range shots. I just was never really aware of Ayton's game once he came into the league nor the back story with his coaches what they asked of him and promised in return, and he did that then no return forthcoming. The situation in Phoenix and Portland etc. I just look at the physical things a player is capable of doing .... and am making the logical assumption here that since he and Luka are family friends like Luka was besties with DFS, that this chance with the Lakers to do well and get a new contract to stay here and play for the marque franchise ..... will combine to re-ignite and take his career to a new level, being that he's just 26 and never gotten fat or out of shape. And shooting that high from mid range knowing he's not a good FT % shooter (which needs fixin' big time) maybe is better than being "aggressive" when the path to the rim is heavily contested with likelihood of being fouled?

 

The gap between Ayton and Hayes is significant enough, for Deandre to look like an All Star caliber player here.

 

The “Ayton is going to be the best Big in the NBA now that he’s on the Lakers” takes around here are just wild.

 

I actually don't see a single take of what you're saying over the last few pages. LT is the most optimistic, but he's usually optimistic that a wheel of cheese could become an All Star on the Lakers - that's just his way of seeing the world. The rest of us are saying, here is a very talented but flawed young player that is in his physical prime and made the finals averaging 16/12 with good defense as the 3rd/4th option.

It's not crazy to think he has the chance to recapture that form. I've been pretty vocal in my idea on building the team around Luka, we just need lots of high end role players and Ayton could very well be the featured second option on a team like that, he wouldn't be some kind of perennial All Star, but you don't need one if you have Luka in MVP form. Ayton (at his best), Reaves, Rui, + role player (Herb Jones), + role player (Keon Ellis), + role player (backup big) plus some MLE guys and rookies is a fantastic roster.

 

Your hyperbole is a little “wild”. Try seeing the other side of an argument for once looking at things differently for the reasons stated. We got 7-8 players including Him and LeBron on this team that have to play well-great this year. Regardless of what has happened in the past and Ayton has the physical tools to do it for what we need him to do.

 

Okay, you guys are right- Ayton’s going to be the Hakeem, Cap, and Shaq all rolled into one!
Our new League MVP!!!
Did I do it right?
Did I comply correctly?

 

Okay, here’s my take: Ayton is a very flawed big man who will help, but in no way, based on his play thus far in the NBA, is half as good as some are painting him out to be.

 

Ahhh jeez.

 

I forgot about the buzz the Colin Castleton was going to break into the rotation and fix the Lakers center woes lol