Deandre Ayton had more than enough reasons to be happy after the LA Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 120-114 on Sunday. Instead, he hinted at frustrations that have been hounding him on the hardcourt as of late.
In the post-game media availability, Ayton strongly hinted that he wanted more touches at the ball. Out of all the players on the Lakers roster, the Bahamian center’s comments appeared to take aim at the team’s two biggest stars.
Bigs can’t feed themselves. I just try my best do what I can to bring effort and I trust my playmakers out there to find me.
For nearly a year now, “playmakers” in the context of the Lakers is a direct reference to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Ayton, then, might be issuing a not-so-direct call for the two generational stars to better involve him in the offense.
Ayton’s gripe with limited touches, which was mentioned by his head coach JJ Redick in a recent interview, is backed by his numbers this season. In his first go-round with the Lakers, Deandre Ayton is averaging a career-low 9.4 field goal attempts per game. To his credit, the 7-foot big man has compensated for this by shooting a career-high 70.4% from the field and putting up 14.3 points a night.
Against the Grizzlies on Sunday, Ayton shot just eight field goal attempts but still managed to finish with 15 points. In his four outings prior to that night, the most shots that he took in a single game was nine against the Sacramento Kings on December 28.
Still, the Lakers improved to 22-11 with their victory over Memphis. It’s their second consecutive win that keeps them within striking distance of the San Antonio Spurs (25-10), who are currently second in the Western Conference. The Lakers’ prime position in the standings should be a reason to be upbeat, but clearly, Ayton did not feel completely satisfied.
Lakers HC Says It’s “Human Nature” for Deandre Ayton’s Rebounding Numbers to Go Down Amidst Frustrations With Touches
For what it’s worth, Redick acknowledged that Ayton’s performance in the rebounding department could take a hit if he isn’t getting enough touches with the ball.
If you don’t feel like you’re getting the ball, the rest of your focus kinda wanes. That’s human nature for most NBA players.
Interestingly, when Ayton got to take nine shots against the Kings, he grabbed a total of 11 rebounds as well. However, there have also been instances over his past five games when he has pulled down as few as two boards.
