yaaa, i didn't want to bring that up. I harp on Billups way too much. But Casey asked DA if Chauncey changed up the playbook, and DeAndre thanked his teammates and didn't want to throw a cookie into the Billups "improvements" mixing bowl. Though Casey bragged about Chauncey's amazing coaching in the post game presser anyways.
Ayton has looked much quicker than any time this year. I wonder if even before the knee, he wasn't 100%?
Serious question, last night Ayton had quite a few dunks.....so many of his shots were at the basket. He also had zero free throw attempts. So was that a negative for those debating the importance of drawing fouls?
I guess that's directed at me anyway, there was a discussion going on about Ayton and FT's; it had turned to a comparison of Ayton vs Przybilla and mid-range shots IIRC. I joined the conversation and simply pointed out that Ayton had one of the lowest FT rates for C's/bigs in the league, and did so by comparing his rate to other bigs. And, I said I thought the ability to draw fouls and get to the line was an important component of a big man's game, for several reasons (like scoring actual easy points; getting his team into the bonus earlier; getting the opposing rim protector in foul trouble) . I didn't make the numbers up but I did say I thought that was a weakness in his game. I was basing that on Ayton's career and his season in Portland; not last night's game
Actually no it was not directed to you. I looked back and it was more about labeling Ayton soft because he doesn't get fouled. In his last two games since that discussion, he has had more dunks ...yet still few free throw attempts. What I see is that once he gets the ball inside, he is quick to dunk. There is nothing they can do to stop it since he can shoot free throws well. I think centers that draw the most fouls are the ones that put the ball on the floor and back their man down. And for me, I don't like it when centers dribble. The less the better IMO. Too many bad things happen when they put the ball on the floor.......unless you are Jokic or Embiid.
You know Nurk used to do this pretty well. Better when he was pissed off a bit. Seems he did a lot of things better when he was turning green/angry (you won't like me when I'm angry) Nurk.
it depends on how effective they are with their post-up moves. Kevin McHale was a human post-up machine and maybe the best at it of all time. But yeah, a big man dribbling in traffic can be a turnover waiting to happen I don't think Ayton is soft...and that was the very first thing I said in that post I got a lot of heat for. Ayton takes a lot of mid-range shots and he doesn't do a lot of pump fakes that tend to draw fouls. He seems to work a lot of spin moves and straight up jump shots fade-away shots. He certainly doesn't fish for whistles and in fact seems to avoid contact. he's averaged a shade under 1.35 points/shot and that's decent efficiency in the NBA. I'm not sure how that stacks up against other NBA bigs. I just think he'd be better, and the team would be better off, if he drew more shooting fouls
Actually, I had Nurk in mind when I said I prefer they didn't put the ball on the floor. Granted there were times when he was very good at it, but I had to hold my breath when he did it late in games. Between getting the ball slapped away or picking up offensive fouls, the potential for a turnover increased when he dribbled.
I actually thought he was fouled at least twice going up for buckets, including one of his dunks, but didn't get the call.
Just a clarification: The FT discussion didn't turn into the Ayton/Przybilla/mid-range discussion. This was a thread about Ayton. I presume that means all things Ayton and not just what any one poster wants it to be. I made a post not directed at anyone observing that Ayton did things that helped a team that didn't show up in stats like being able to switch out on guards or shoot from the mid-range to open up the restricted area for teammates. Someone came in to say Hassan Whiteside had a mid-range game, too. At some point you came in and I guess that's where the FT part of the discussion took over. But, again, no one, no one is saying Ayton shouldn't get to the line at least a little bit more. The discussion is more about just how important it is for a player to do that, if it really is a thing that on its own significantly diminishes a player's value if he doesn't.
So he's gonna have a kid here that will grow up and play for the Warriors after they suck for another 25 years?
That's the thing. If you dunk like Shaq, you go to the line. Ayton dunks, but still doesn't touch people. Still soft.
Interesting take. Are you saying Ayton does not touch people when he dunks........and that is a negative?
