“Decoding Deandre Ayton: Exploring the Ups and Downs of the Suns’ Double-Ten Center”

The weapon is sharp, cutting iron like mud. The wind direction is sharp, like a small iron. I hope to use more discussions and share various viewing opinions.

In the impression of many Taiwanese football critics, or fans who have already been exaggerated, Deandre Ayton seems to be a very special existence, especially because, from the perspective of actual signing, the Suns discussed with him in 2021 that the inevitable early renewal of the rookie contract failed. , It seems to be “to prove himself again”, the result is that in 2022, when the Pacers (regardless of whether there is an agent behind it or not) put forward a four-year high-standard offer to Ayton, who is a restricted free agent, the Suns immediately followed Jin, from this point of view, the Suns should be regarded as paying attention to him, but in fact, the negotiations between the two parties hit the rocks in the previous year, and it is precisely because Ayton expects to be compared with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Michael Porter Jr. who are on the same ladder. The five-year highest salary offer that was highly valued was finally delayed for a year, and the length of the term and the increase were all reduced by the outside team’s offer. From this perspective, it seems that the Suns did not attach so much importance to him.

Just like, from the statistics, whether it is his career average of 16.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, FG% 0.597, FT% 0.755, or his 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, FG% 0.634 in the last two seasons since the renewal incident occurred. , FT% 0.746 and 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, FG% 0.589, FT% 0.760, it can be seen that he is a rare high-quality double-ten center in the league. He has advantages such as upper-middle attack range, etc., but in the eyes of some ball critics and fans, his contribution is not as good as those simple hard-working players. The number one war criminal with an unsatisfactory racing record.

Just like in the first round of this year, facing the Clippers with a team full of threats and a super-specialized formation, Paul George, the two main players of the Clippers, was confirmed to be absent before the start of the game, and Kawhi Leonard was absent from the third game of the series. Under the sun, the Suns fought hard every game, and they were defeated at home in the first game. This made the Suns the object of doubt, and Ayton, who was often questioned, was even criticized in many communities.

Why can’t Ayton’s high-quality data be translated into equivalent perceptions? From the perspective of the content of the game, what went wrong?

Definitely not just blue collar

In recent comparisons, the two examples that are often compared with Ayton are Clint Capela and Kevon Looney. Capela is the last supporting center who cooperated with CP3 and maintained competitiveness in the playoffs, while Looney is The starting center of last season’s championship Warriors, the reason for comparing the two is that the Suns were counterattacked by the Mavericks in the second round last season, and in the last two games that the Mavericks won, Ayton still had a good game The data, but it seems that they can’t save the Suns’ defeat at all. In the seventh game, they lost both face and face. The Suns were beaten at the beginning of the game. Ayton only left the tragic data of 5 points and 4 rebounds, and even sat on the bench in the second half. And Looney not only followed the Warriors to defeat the Mavericks with almost no resistance, but also handed over the average double-ten data in the series, and even “20-10” in the second game. In terms of facing the same opponent, Looney looks like Performed better than Ayton.

Winners and losers are the invariable theorem. The Warriors’ championship—especially compared to the previous championships, this time a champion with a slightly less absolute crushing advantage will make people affirm the various elements of it, or even hang it up. Looney’s success seems to be the same as the love filter. It is true that Looney played his role well and became the starting center of the championship team. On top of good players.

For example, the biggest difference between Ayton, Looney, and Capela is that Ayton’s attack range is much better than the other two. From the above table, it can be seen that more than 98% of Capela’s shots are within 10 feet, and more than 3/4 of his shots are within 10 feet. Near the basket, in short, there is no “shooting” ability. The real thing is to rely on slam dunks, layups, and passive responses without the ability to get off the ball. Looney is slightly better, but nearly 85% of his shots are at 10 feet. Inside, there are very few “shooting” shots, but Ayton is not limited to “dropping the ball” near the basket. He has shooting sights between 10-16 feet, and even between 16 feet and the three-point line, and his shooting percentage is even higher than that of Anthony Davis. , if AD’s mid-range shooting is considered a usable weapon, then Ayton’s ability to shoot from the mid-range should also be valued, as in Game 2 of this year’s series against the Clippers, when the Suns struggled to recover from a first-quarter offensive slump. When they got up, it was Ayton who hit mid-range jumpers three times in the second quarter to help the Suns stabilize their position, and only then did they chase points and even reversed.