Imo, not necessary. Unless you are Jokic or Embiid, a big-on-big post-up is such a low percentage shot these days. DA is already good enough on his post ups that he will be reliable when he has a mismatch. But I don’t want to just dump it down to him more than 2-3 times a quarter. Although if he wanted to work with Dream, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
He's definitely more valuable as a role big right now. If Ayton's going to take a jump though, I wonder where it comes from because it's going to be hard for him to take an offensive leap if he's playing the same way offensively and just getting fed within the flow of the offense. In todays' NBA, I can't think of a single-star level player that can't shoot 3s or consistently create their own shot from the perimeter unless they're an absolutely ELITE defender like Gobert, Bam, JJJ... But those guys are fringe stars at best and only because of their elite defense. Ayton's quick, seems like he can handle a bit for his size, and has touch. If he could hit 3s, then he'd also be able to attack closeouts and dribble drive which he's shown a few flashes of. I think that's necessary for him to take that leap to stardom. Unfortunately his shot is so flat that it makes it hard for him to consistently hit from distance.
Exactly. Having that green light might be what he needs. Confidence is huge. This season should be all about maximizing our youth for the future and part of that would be giving DA the freedom to shoot 3s and attack off the dribble to see if he has the potential to be more than just a big that gets fed by others 15-feet and in.
Having Rob Will makes me want to see Ayton shoot 3s even more. It makes those guys fit next to each other less clunky on offense if one of them can space the court out to 3. I still don't know about the pairing because I think they're both best defending the rim as switchable bigs and I don't want Ayton hovering around the arc permanently, but it would make it easier on the guards spacing wise.
Do you think Sarr will be as impactful as Mobley off the bat? My dream right now is to have Sarr as the backup 4 and maybe starting 5 in 4-5 years. I agree, also, Ayton’s shot is so flat, I don’t know if I’m confident he’ll be a decent shooter from there. He looks great on long 2s though, it’s weird.
I love Sarr. Has everything you'd want in a modern big. Hard to be as good defensively as rookie Mobley though
First thing I would say is Giannis does take three pointers. To the tune to about 3 a game and has been over 4 a game in 2019-20. He just doesn't make more than 30% of them. Ayton better work on them plenty before trying them in a game. To this point it's been nonexistent. His entire career he is 21-80. 25% isn't gonna cut it.
Absolutely. I want the Blazers to tank the next two years so we can add a couple more high ceiling guys to the depth chart. But I don't want them to shutdown guys like they've done the last two years. Giving guys the green light to do things they haven't previously had success with seems like a solid way to accomplish that goal.
Nurkic shot a couple 3's a game. Nassir was always in launch mode when apllicable. Keon took 5 seconds to bend the knees and straighten out heaves from distance. There's at least 5-6 more bombs for the Blazers to launch. You gotta give Ayton a chance to show some range. Drew Eubanks was firing off triples near the end of last season. If Coach gave Drew a green light, I guarantee we'll see Ayton 3's this season. i'm calling first Blazer basket of the season: -- Deandre Ayton top of key 3 point hit !!
And, as @BonesJones mentioned, which I didn't think of, it should allow Rob Williams to play with Ayton. Rob Williams started with Al Horford when he was in Boston.
but, it takes Portland best offensive rebounder 22' from the basket, and rebounding will be a weakness this season
I'm imagining Williams as a early-career Zach Randolph garbage man on the offensive boards, though I admit I don't know his game.
Two-thirds of Horford's FGA were 3's because that's about all he's good for on the offensive end; and he shot 44% last year. I don't expect to see anything like that from Ayton. Very different players and skillsets at the moment.
I have no idea if he's capable of making three pointers. If he is, then he should shoot them... that would be ideal for reasons listed (floor spacing, position flexibility, etc.). One of the reasons I think Ayton is overpaid is because he doesn't do things well (passing, perimeter shooting) that the best centers in the game do, but he is paid like one of the best centers in the league. If he can't hit them? Then let him do what he does well in the games and work on them outside of competitive play. While I agree that winning is not the only consideration this year (and maybe not even the main one), I don't think asking a guy to learn to make three pointers in games is a wise thing... teams would just leave him open and he'd either brick them or pass them up, which is bad for his confidence and disruptive of the rest of the players (which is bad for winning and for player and team development).
