Suns Media Day and Training Camp 2021

[virtual9mm]

jesús cristo we need the season to start. factions are already forming between "I wish this guy would get better at his strengths" and "he's AMAZING as is!" and we are on day 3 of training camp.

How I feel as well. Let's see him in games first. Not enough data. I personally feel that he will have ten game stretches where he will be disappointing...and then average 20-20 with 5 FTAs per game for the next 30 games. Then let the pedal off the metal again.

Based on his first 3 seasons, my expectation is similar, but it would so-so for 20 games, amazing for 5, rinse/repeat. But if that means he becomes a dominant force--like he was through the middle part of the playoffs--for the entire playoffs, I'm good.

I am with you. I would like to see a trendline up and expect that he will start on a higher plateau.

[Superbone]

Book gets no respect, I tell ya.

[ShelC]

[JeremyG]

I don't want Ayton to work on his ballhandling if he's going to result in between the leg crossovers into step-back fadeaways.

I’m just curious, do you have anything upbeat or nice to say anymore or is everything the team does these days just wrong in your eyes. Or is it just Ayton?

How about you give the guy a break and encouragement for working in his game?

Hey, I love that he's working on his game. I just want to see him work on his face up game and taking the ball to the hoop with contact. He needs to work on all facets. Not just step backs. Maybe we've just been unlucky and all the videos just happen to be of him working on his step back game. Maybe the media just doesn't want to show him going to the basket. I'm sure that's it.

One other thing. We're not the ones he looks to for encouragement. That's his coaches and fellow players. We as fans just want the best for our team AND the players. In spite of how well Ayton has played and grown, we know how much more room he has for improvement and we all want to see that. That makes everybody happy. Including the fans.

Oh I see, we saw one player take one touch on one drill and conclude that he hasn’t worked on his post up game. Did you ever think it wasn’t a post-up drill? Maybe it was a jump-shooting drill? Have you seen the post-up drill first hand?

Apparently you haven't watched the videos. In both that I referenced, back to back, in the same drill, McGee went to the hoop and Ayton did a step back jumper.

You're assuming a lot about what they were or were not told to do in that drill.

And you're ignoring the video that was posted from the first day of camp:



But I'm sure most of you will complain that he didn't punish the rim hard enough in a camp drill.

[bajanguy008]

Book comes back just in time to change topic, save the msg board or hopefully just from folks losing their minds
Things were seemingly going off the rails around here y'day
Yikes.....

Come on folks

[Indy]

Book comes back just in time to change topic, save the msg board or hopefully just from folks losing their minds
Things were seemingly going off the rails around here y'day
Yikes.....

Come on folks

[Superbone]

I’m just curious, do you have anything upbeat or nice to say anymore or is everything the team does these days just wrong in your eyes. Or is it just Ayton?

How about you give the guy a break and encouragement for working in his game?

Hey, I love that he's working on his game. I just want to see him work on his face up game and taking the ball to the hoop with contact. He needs to work on all facets. Not just step backs. Maybe we've just been unlucky and all the videos just happen to be of him working on his step back game. Maybe the media just doesn't want to show him going to the basket. I'm sure that's it.

One other thing. We're not the ones he looks to for encouragement. That's his coaches and fellow players. We as fans just want the best for our team AND the players. In spite of how well Ayton has played and grown, we know how much more room he has for improvement and we all want to see that. That makes everybody happy. Including the fans.

Oh I see, we saw one player take one touch on one drill and conclude that he hasn’t worked on his post up game. Did you ever think it wasn’t a post-up drill? Maybe it was a jump-shooting drill? Have you seen the post-up drill first hand?

Apparently you haven't watched the videos. In both that I referenced, back to back, in the same drill, McGee went to the hoop and Ayton did a step back jumper.

You're assuming a lot about what they were or were not told to do in that drill.

And you're ignoring the video that was posted from the first day of camp:



But I'm sure most of you will complain that he didn't punish the rim hard enough in a camp drill.

Oh, yeah. VERY impressive how he got around a stationary 50-year-old man.

[Flagrant Fowl]

...

And you're ignoring the video that was posted from the first day of camp:



But I'm sure most of you will complain that he didn't punish the rim hard enough in a camp drill.

He's literally the only guy in that video besides coach Mark Bryant who didn't dunk the ball.

[ShelC]

Day 4

[Nodack]

I am as optimistic as any here and am happy with Ayton’s progress. Having said that, seeing a video of McGee and Ayton practicing their post up moves, it didn’t surprise me that McGee made a move to the hoop and Ayton made a step back move for fadeaway. Maybe he has been working on his post up moves and driving to the basket for a foul like everyone here wants from him. We just didn’t see it. We saw his new mentor post up and make a move to the hoop and Ayton post up and instead shoot a fadeaway like we see 98% of the time from him.

Me and everyone else here wants to see the video of him going around his man and posterizing him as he dunks on him. We have seen the fadeaway many times. Working on that is nice but…. We did see more of the aggressive Ayton in the playoffs and that was very encouraging. Him working on fadeaway’s and talking about shooting more threes is not what I want to see right now. That doesn’t make me any less of a homer.

[Superbone]

I am as optimistic as any here and am happy with Ayton’s progress. Having said that, seeing a video of McGee and Ayton practicing their post up moves, it didn’t surprise me that McGee made a move to the hoop and Ayton made a step back move for fadeaway. Maybe he has been working on his post up moves and driving to the basket for a foul like everyone here wants from him. We just didn’t see it. We saw his new mentor post up and make a move to the hoop and Ayton post up and instead shoot a fadeaway like we see 98% of the time from him.

Me and everyone else here wants to see the video of him going around his man and posterizing him as he dunks on him. We have seen the fadeaway many times. Working on that is nice but…. We did see more of the aggressive Ayton in the playoffs and that was very encouraging. Him working on fadeaway’s and talking about shooting more threes is not what I want to see right now. That doesn’t make me any less of a homer.

YES! I love Ayton but I'm trying to set my expectations because from everything he says, he prefers to be a perimeter player and to avoid contact. I have to make my peace with that. The good thing is that Coach and his fellow players are pushing him to be dominant around the basket and he appears to do what is asked of him in spite of what he himself says.

[Split T]

[ShelC]

[virtual9mm]

I have to admit that there is a part of me that is worried that Ayton's going to start jacking up jumpers like crazy because he's not getting the max yet.

[ShelC]

[Indy]

No comment on that fade away against Mark.

[Superbone]

No comment on that fade away against Mark.

Dude, I didn't say a peep. Was glad to see Stix try to get close to the hoop though.

[Nodack]

Mums the word…

[The Bobster]

Smith ends the game tied with Landry for high scorer with 13 points, and as the leading rebounder with 11.

Also 4/6 on 2-Pt FG, 1/6 on 3-Pt FG and 2 Blocks.

Maybe there's some hope.

[bajanguy008]

Smith ends the game tied with Landry for high scorer with 13 points, and as the leading rebounder with 11.

Also 4/6 on 2-Pt FG, 1/6 on 3-Pt FG and 2 Blocks.

Maybe there's some hope.

As someone who been trying to get folks to give him a chance I think I'm allowed to dampen his numbers a lil bit
Seriously just adding context though.

I followed ESPN play by play til Half, didn't actually watch but checking everything earlier I'm not going to count the last 6mins because that's when guys like Payne, Hield, Richaun and so on checked out. Essentially it was a G-League/SL game from that point and in that stretch he went 3/3 which is still good that he seemingly stood out against those guys.

So his first 26mins was 2/9, 0/5 from 3, 2/2 from the line with 10rebs, a stl and 2 blks.
During SL I wanted him to have a dunk, a 3 and a block every game which basically ticks the boxes of "the athletic 4" we drafted him as. His shooting was streaky in SL also and obviously that has to be more efficient or he will not be able to stay on the court. I'm very happy that his rebounding is continuing because he definitely cleaned the glass in SL.

I was also a lil bummed during SL that he seemed to be rotating well but would be just missing blocks which I thought he had. So to see him meet Richaun at the top who we all knows goes to the basket hard and then the other block is against Fox. That is encouraging so at least I get to watch tonight and never know, maybe just maybe guys