Deandre Ayton’s Summer League run ended sooner than most expected. In four games, he averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and one block. While his box score stats were solid, he never seemed dominant, or took control of games as many fans initially hoped to see.
Additionally, it felt like his scoring was mostly a byproduct of Kokoskov’s offense being implemented and easy, around-the-rim baskets. That being said, this was only Summer League, and while he perhaps wasn’t the most impressive rookie at the Vegas showcase, Ayton did show flashes of what he could become and what he needs to improve on as he begins his NBA career.
Big Man Physicality
While this improved over the course of the Suns’ Summer League run, one of the biggest observations from Ayton’s performance was his lack of assertiveness and physicality, especially in the post. In the first few games, Ayton seemed unsure of himself at times and didn’t embrace contact as many Phoenix fans hope to see someday. Even with his impressive size and stature, it was clear after watching his games that his inside game potential is dependent upon how aggressive he’s willing to be.
Observation 1: Ayton’s lack of physicality in the post early on. Equipped with an NBA-ready body, he seemed a bit hesitant to assert himself at times. In the clip below,Motley simply overpowers him in the post for the easy points while also earning a trip to the line: pic.twitter.com/LQdBklbOII
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Here’s another example of Ayton not being physical enough in the post. Does a good job of rotating onto Motley and commits the foul. However, he needs to foul hard enough to cause the miss and not give up extra points: pic.twitter.com/8u5RGp2wRO
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
In this example, when he jockeys for position to grab the offensive rebound, he gets bumped out by 6-4 Troy Caupain. He needs to use his size and strength to body his way inside and gain better positioning (and ideally not get pushed out by smaller guys): pic.twitter.com/mySUduL9eW
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
It was obvious when Ayton did use physicality and the results were what you would expect. It mostly came against headliners like Marvin Bagley or Mo Bamba, so maybe he was gearing up for those particular matchups?
His aggressiveness is something that will (hopefully) improve over time, and he did show gradual improvement. Here, he fronts Bagley in the post, tips the inside pass to himself, does a 1-step power dribble towards the hoop, and gets the and1 to finish it off: pic.twitter.com/kuOjqVwFww
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Another example of Ayton showing his physicality. As he rolls off the pick towards the hoop, he pushes Mo Bamba out of the way and gets the putback slam: pic.twitter.com/ZW7WJ0nRAJ
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
One of Ayton’s most noticeable struggles was sealing effectively in the post. He tended to stand straight up while bodying opponents rather than getting low and anchoring himself. For bigs, getting low allows for better positioning when grabbing rebounds or receiving a pass down low. This is an important area Kokoskov, and his staff should work on improving early. As the main man down in the post, sealing effectively will provide Ayton with more scoring and rebounding opportunities than he saw while playing in Vegas.
Observation 2: Ayton needs to seal the post better. There were times when Ayton was standing straight up when jockeying for position for rebounds/inside passes. Here, Ayton lets Bagley gain better positioning, which results in a turnover: pic.twitter.com/vR9qbv3xg8
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
It’s also important to note that Phoenix had a tough time getting him the ball at times. As he enters into the official season, playing with improved perimeter talent, like Brandon Knight and Devin Booker, will help in alleviating this issue.
Pick & Rolls
Ayton’s screening ability (or lack thereof) was evident to Summer League viewers. Watching the Suns, it was easy to see that he often didn’t try to create contact when screening for his teammates. It’s puzzling as to why this was the case, considering he already has an NBA-ready body that can presumably handle great contact. Ayton seemingly screened for the sake of screening, instead of attempting to create real space for his teammates or even himself. Simply put, he didn’t screen with purpose, and he often did not create adequate contact, which allowed opponents to recover more easily on the defensive end.
Observation 3: Ayton struggles with setting screens. One of my biggest pet peeves was him not creating enough contact with the picks he set. He didn’t create much space for himself or his teammates as a result. Here, two “screens” are done but no contact is created whatsoever: pic.twitter.com/XHFQJJGRQh
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Additionally, Ayton wasn’t aggressive with his rolls off of those same screens. This resulted in missed, easy opportunities at or near the rim.
Ayton also needs to become more aggressive when rolling. Here, Ayton could’ve rolled towards the hoop immediately when Giga committed to the trap instead of trying to screen Korkmaz as well, which slowed the play down: pic.twitter.com/39xwmzysw0
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
With this being said, it’s imperative to consider how much pick and roll experience he gained during his year at Arizona. Per David Nash’s “Deandre Ayton: The No. 1 Pick & His Role,” Ayton finished only 88 possessions out of the pick and roll in 1,772 minutes in college (meaning one offensive P&R finish about every 20 minutes). It’s also critical to note that he played primarily the four instead of the 5, and is now in a system that relies on him being the main man down low.
As he progresses in his rookie season, setting solid screens will not only benefit his teammates but himself as well. Ideally, these plays will force defenses to switch and provide Ayton with offensive mismatch opportunities in the post. Last season, Phoenix ranked 14th in PPP and 27th in frequency among teams in pick & roll possessions finished by the roll man. As Ayton continues to develop under Kokoskov and his staff, it is likely both of these numbers will improve.
Rebounding
Ayton averaged 10.5 rebounds per game, ranking 5th among all Summer League players (min. 4 games played). Standing at 7-1 with a 7-6 wingspan in a 250lb body, Ayton is the ideal rebounding specimen from a physical standpoint. His size, length, and athleticism are all very applicable tools that can help him dominate in this area throughout his career. During Summer League, even when he had outside positioning on a box-out for a rebound, Ayton showed he can still jump over defenders and tip the ball to himself.
Observation 4: As we all already know, Ayton’s rebounding is one of his primary strengths. Here he’s able to use his length to tip the ball to himself over his man and get the close-range shot: pic.twitter.com/JKRr2vVgnk
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Speaking of tipping, there were noticeable instances where Ayton tried tipping the ball either to himself or back into the basket when he should have simply grabbed the ball with both hands and put it back up forcefully. This is something that will improve over time as his experience and decision-making ability grow.
But one noticeable observation about his rebounding was his high tendency to tip the ball instead of grabbing it. Here’s a high-traffic situation where he should have grabbed the ball and went back up instead of trying to tip it back in: pic.twitter.com/yCQ9Y0QcuO
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Ayton will also need to improve in his defensive awareness when rebounding. Despite him possessing great physical assets, there were times when he did not utilize them, and offensive boards and points were given up as a result.
Another rebounding observation was his on-court awareness (or lack thereof) at times. Here, Ayton doesn’t seem completely engaged and doesn’t box out. He loses track of his man and ends up giving up second-chance points: pic.twitter.com/SzzNZPBBZN
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
The Ayton Gravity Effect
Ayton’s size, length, and soft touch around the rim all make him a deadly force on the inside. Some teams went to great lengths to account for this, even double-teaming him at times. Ayton commanded attention down low and, at times, was able to draw defenders towards him, especially when rolling towards the hoop. When he was in the post, defenses had a choice of helping on him or staying home on the perimeter. Helping on him created space and allowed for better three-point looks.
Observation 5: The Ayton Gravity effect is special. This is something that the @BrightSideSun guys have talked a lot about. Here, Ayton draws attention from the defense, which creates room for the offense to operate on the perimeter: pic.twitter.com/Y6NdFY74Us
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018
Last year, Troy Daniels (40%), Devin Booker (38%), Trevor Ariza (37%), and Dragan Bender (37%) all shot above average from long-range. Surrounding Ayton with three-point shooters such as these will help space the floor even more and put higher pressure on defenses.
Running the Floor
Ayton’s agility and ability to get up and down the court is valuable. When he wants to, he can cover a significant amount of space in little time compared to other bigs, and his scoring ability around the rim should make him the primary finisher on a lot of fast break possessions in Phoenix this upcoming season.
And finally, observation 6: Ayton can run the floor. Even though this was a called a foul, he showed great effort and ability in nearly stopping the fast break off the turnover: pic.twitter.com/tPoNyGpgMy
— Curtis Christian (@curtchristian13) July 23, 2018