Didn’t score a lot but he was still a beast tonight. Those offensive boards were clutch. Also loved his interior defense.
He has been doing the rebounding so far this season and a lot of the dirty work. Time to feed the big fella.
I know it drives me bonkers how we can't get this guy a post up, but we can (kinda) get Grant a Post-up?!?!
I don't think his strength is posting up. There was one play with Scoot, looked like a pick and pop. set him up for a nice 12 foot shot (which he missed, ). I don't know much about basketball tactics but it seems setting screens to give him open 10-15 foot shots would be very effective. Maybe Williams could set the screens?
Without guards that can threaten defenses by punishing defenders that go under screens on the pick and roll (and I think both Sharpe and Scoot still fall in this category), Ayton will likely not find many opportunities out of these sets. Things are just too muddy around him. He'd help his cause by consistently setting stronger screens that might free up the guards to get downhill more frequently, but he's not there yet. And our young guards just don't have the gravity yet in these sets.
That's another reason it is important to have a player like Ant on the roster. Shooting and spacing is so important in this league.
We finally have a rim protecting rebounding legit big! Last night was eye opening for what he'll bring to the team! I'm pretty stoked and if last night's game was what Chauncey ball is supposed to look like, I'll eat crow soon enough. Really enjoyed how we played in Toronto
Having a lot more movement in the half-court offense is all it will take for Ayton to get better looks. And with him Domin-ayton the boards, the Blazer should be looking to run more and attack the basket hard with Scoot, Sharpe, and Grant. Grant is a great finisher on the break, something we haven't seen much of so far. We did see it with Scoot driving straight at the basket then dishing to Grant. That is very difficult to stop.
I hope Ayton can keep up the energy even if he doesn't get a ton of shots, because... he's not going to get a ton of shots. I love what he brought last night and he can definitely be a force even without scoring a ton as long as he keeps his head on straight.
If he wants to focus on owning the boards and D-ing up, & isn't whining about touches on O... you'll only hear praise from me. More please! STOMP
I think Ayton will eventually get more touches. Going to take some time to get things into a groove where they know how to respond to different looks. Right now this team just looks very very young.
Portland had Ant in game one; Ayton scored 4 points on 4 shots Ayton averaging 5 fewer FGA than his career average, and 6 fewer than last season, isn't because Portland doesn't have Ant, it's because they don't have Chris Paul....or Dame for that matter. And, Ayton averaging 4 fewer minutes than his career average is part of the equation Portland's Ayton problem, if they have one, is due to structure, schemes, and personnel. It doesn't matter, much, if one defender is hedging 3-5 feet further from the basket because the Blazers have a shooter on the floor, if the Blazers don't have ball-handlers with good court vision that can consistently find Ayton in good scoring positions. And the Blazers do not have those kinds of ball-handlers take a look at the assists/game rankings right now: Portland is averaging 6.5 assists less than the league average. Blazers have a pathetic team offense right now and it's failing to capitalize on Ayton's assumed skill's. look at Ayton's assisted FG rates over the last 3 seasons: 2020-21 - 71.6% 2021-22 - 81.2% 2022-23 - 79.3% 2023-24 - 58.8% (Portland) Ayton relies on his team to create his scoring opportunities. He's not a C like Jokic or Embiid or Sabonis that can operate in the high post and either pass or dribble-drive. He's like most C's and he needs entry passes from savvy facilitators. That's what is primarily missing from the equation, not Ant's shooting another thing Portland is missing is the 40% three point shooting of Grant (last season); it's 19% this season and a front-court player shooting 40% is going to clear more space for Ayton than a back-court player shooting 38% but I think everybody knew it was going to be a rocky road replacing Dame with a 19 year old rookie
Not going to judge that pair over 1 game, their first ever together. It means nothing at this point. I disagree that Portland is missing just Grant shooting lights out from the 3. Portland is missing good 3P shooting, period, both from the perimeter and from the bigs. The fact that Scoot is not a 3P shooter is another reason that having someone like Ant on the roster is super important, both for Scoot and for DA. Unless you have someone like Zion that can bounce anyone in his path and has the touch in tough contested shots in a crowded interior - you need spacing. Ant is the best option Portland's current roster have for creating spacing. It's that simple.
well, I just made a post explaining my view that it wasn't that simple, at all, so we aren't agreeing on the cause I'm not saying it wouldn't be helpful to have Ant shooting well from the arc, but spacing doesn't mean shit if you don't have ball-handlers with good court vision capable of consistently making solid entry passes, and the Blazers don't have those players. Ant gunning up 9-10 three's a game while averaging 17-19 FGA isn't going to give Ayton more shots in the paint
