He is. That's what they want to change and why Monty has put him on the bench. And it doesn't seem like it's hurting as I feel Ayton is playing better defense. Boxing out, not so much, but at least he is trying to pay attention to rotations and is looking to deny opposite players, which is paying off since when you are that gifted, many times it's just a matter of showing up.
Now, scoring in the post, first he needs to stablish position, which is also inconsistent at the moment because he doesn't know how to actually seal his defender. He also gets discouraged when he feels he has position but the ball doesn't get to him.
Of couse, the rest of the lineup needs to do a better job at finding him, but a big part of that is having real 3pt threats our there to keep defenses from crowding Ayton (PHI is suffering this with Embiid too), which we annoyingly still lack (21st overall in 3pt%, #13 in attempts per game) despite all the moves made this offseason with that issue in mind.
Unfortunately, Ayton seems to be a guy that can only focus for very limited stretches. Like 2-3 minutes a quarter. And part of it looks to be conditioning, other part is paying attention.
Because he doesn’t touch the ball for 5 minutes at a time. It’s only human nature if you’re not involved, you’ll drift.
I doubt you can find games where he played for 5 minutes straight and didn't touch the ball.
And if he were more efficient in the post, we would feed him more. But he hasn't shown that ability this year, and his suspension only adds to the frustration. At this point we should have been talking about the growth we have seen from our #1 pick in his second year, as he is learning the league.
Instead he was grounded for 25 games, and when he does post up, he is in the bottom quarter of the league for points per shot. We are .2 points per shot better with Rubio taking a 3 than Ayton posting up.
He is capable of doing so much more. Last year he was in the top quarter of the league. And it isn't due to lack of touches. In just his 8 games, he has nearly as many post FGA as anyone else on the team. (He has 29 attempts, Book has 32, Dario 35.) Ayton is getting more post FGA/game this year than last. He just isn't converting it to points, because he is playing soft and fading away from contact.
You write these things but you’re not paying attention in games in my opinion. If you really think he’s involved enough and they are maximizing him, I don’t know what to tell you. You just have it out for him the second the pick was announced.
I was very supportive of him, and continue to be. I bought a freaking Ayton jersey and got him to sign it. I want him to succeed! But he has to play with intensity and make people scared of guarding him. He hasn't done that, despite having all of the physical tools you could want in a center nowadays.
