At times this season, Deandre Ayton has been criticized more than any other player on the Los Angeles Lakers. When he arrived as a free agent this past summer, some fans envisioned him having a career year thanks to the presence of LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Instead, he has often seemed like a non-factor offensively.
In Tuesday’s 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ayton attempted just four shots and scored three points in 23 minutes. Coach JJ Redick said that the center had been having trouble simply catching the basketball. But Ayton responded in a big way on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors.
Against a depleted Warriors squad, he put up 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 12 in the third quarter when the Lakers started to pull away toward a 119-103 victory. Afterward, former Miami Heat big man Udonis Haslem interviewed Ayton on Prime Video and gave Ayton a bit of a pep talk.
“I want you to know that you are still that guy,” Haslem said. “You have to shift your focus a little bit, and there’s other things you have to do to help this team win, but you are still that guy. It’s just in a different role, so you still need to approach these games as that guy in a different role, and contribute to win. But don’t change the way you see yourself, the way you view yourself or the way you perceive yourself. You’re that guy.
“… I think you are that guy in that different role, and I think you can be a key to those guys maximizing their season.”
Interestingly, Haslem said before the season started that Ayton wouldn’t be a good fit for Los Angeles because he wouldn’t get the ball enough or be enough of a featured player offensively.
Ayton is at 8.3 field-goal attempts per game this season, which is by far a career low for him, and his 12.4 points a game is an underwhelming number for a man who had a career average of 16.4 points per game coming into this season. But while the Lakers tend to win a lot more often when he reaches double figures in shot attempts, they need consistent rebounding and defense from him more than anything.
As the fourth option on the team (when the team is fully healthy), Ayton has indeed had to play a different role, but he eventually accepted that changed role. He will be a big factor in how far the Lakers go in the playoffs, especially with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for at least a few weeks due to injury.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Udonis Haslem gives Deandre Ayton pep talk after Warriors game
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
