Dominant Deandre Ayton is Exactly What Phoenix Needs
It was the Deandre Ayton show on Saturday night in the Phoenix Suns’ thrilling 113-112 victory over the Utah Jazz.
The 24-year-old center put up a ridiculous 29 points and 21 rebounds imposing his will on the Jazz, ensuring the Suns secured a win to finish the week.
The entirety of Ayton’s skills were on display last night including his offensive dominance in the paint. Despite not taking a single three-pointer all game, he still led the team in scoring.
What was most impressive was Ayton’s determination and physicality at the rim. He grabbed 12 defensive rebounds (with nine offensive rebounds) which was a key component in the Suns' win.
“I don’t know what he ate for Thanksgiving, but I wish I went over there,” Devin Booker said following the win. “It is what we need out of him, he is bringing it. Not even about the 29 points and 21 rebounds, just the physicality. I think he is going to realize that is what comes with it. It is tough on teams when he is getting those second chance opportunities.
Getting the and-one’s and making free-throws at the same time. Stellar performance, back-to-back nights for him. We gotta keep it going.”
Taking accountability over yourself is key. At this stage of his career Ayton knows that the Suns need him to perform game-in and game-out. Not only has Ayton increased his level of play, but he's also matured mentally.
“Energy. I’m the main guy who has to be ready to play every night. I cannot be that guy who is easing into games," he said.
"For this team I have to be that energizer, that dude who is making those plays, who is on the glass, who is dunking the ball, who is getting the crowd in it, setting all our screens, setting the tone of the physicality, moving people out of the way. I’m the tone setter. When I do that my team follows, and everything falls into place when we play Suns basketball the right way.”
Coming into the league with a lot of raw potential, Ayton showed flashes of what he can accomplish but was extremely inconsistent with his play on the court. Although it doesn't come up on any stat sheet, Ayton has been rigorously working in the gym to ensure that he consistently plays at an elite level.
The work has clearly paid off.
“I mean to do that after how he played last night says a lot about the conditioning,” coach Monty Williams said. “He’s put the work in. What a lot of people don’t know is the young man has been coming to the gym at crazy hours, lifting with Corey, so that he can be prepared for moments like this. And it’s just good to see the work pay off and it’s good to see him have monster games against a really good team on a back-to-back; that’s pretty impressive.
"We let him bring it in tonight because we typically don’t look at the numbers because everybody’s contributions are important even though sometimes guys put up extraordinary numbers. Sometimes it’s Book, Chris (Paul), Mikal (Bridges) and DA, but when you put up 29 and 21 on a back-to-back, that’s impressive.”
You can’t help but think about the heroics of former Suns center Amare Stoudemire while watching Ayton play. After last night's performance, Ayton became the first Suns player to have at least 28 points and 20 rebounds since Stoudemire did it in 2007.
Ayton has developed into an exceptional center who has all the potential to carry on the same level of success Stoudemire had for the Suns for so many years.
“Amar’e (Stoudemire) took over, that man ran Phoenix,'' Ayton said.
“He definitely dunked a lot more than me, but I am trying. I am trying to dunk the ball as much as Amar’e, but just hearing that it is definitely an honor. It tells me I am doing something pretty good. I just have to keep going and back up these stats with dubs.”
If Ayton continues to play the way he did last night, he is surely set to be a cornerstone for this Suns franchise for years to come.
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