In the hours leading up to Portland’s recent clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a Reddit post was gaining steam in the “r/RipCity” community surrounding center Deandre Ayton.
“What do you guys think of the Deandre Ayton experience so far?” the post asked.
The responses? They were overwhelmingly positive.
“DA has been a clear upgrade at the 5, and his attitude/effort have been great,” the top response said.
“Good defender. Great rebounder. Runs the floor well,” another trending reply added.
Up to this point, things have looked good on the Ayton front, and fans appreciate what they’re seeing from what is arguably the biggest return in the Damian Lillard trade. But at the same time, there’s been something missing from the “experience”—and people have taken notice.
“ … If He Got Touches”
Despite the positivity in the Reddit responses, the second trending reply also closed with the following Ayton analysis:
“Butterfingers. Can’t dribble. Needs more touches in the post […] could easily be a 20ppg+ scorer on 55% if he got the touches.”
That last part is key, and it’s something really only Chauncey Billups can fix.
So far this season, Ayton’s Usage Percentage is down to a career-low. Through 11 games, he ranks just 140th across the league, sandwiching him between Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George (139th) and Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (141st). Maybe more disheartening is that Ayton is also just six spots ahead of Phoenix Suns backup center Drew Eubanks (146th) and 18 spots behind Jusuf Nurkic (122nd).
If Ayton’s placement on that list and his dip from past seasons feels like basketball malpractice, it’s because this is the least attractive supporting cast the former No. 1 pick has been around, especially with the roster in its current battered state. Meaning, of course, that the opportunity for touches isn’t just here; it’s the best opportunity Ayton has had to gain touches since his promising career began in 2018.
The current state of these young Trail Blazers is a factor, admittedly. It’s one thing to get reps alongside Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons; it’s an entirely different experience swapping in Skylar Mays and Jamaree Bouyea.
Truth is, we’re still in “Small Sample Size Theater” less than 15 percent of the way through the season. And there’s a fine line between unleashing a new core piece and tossing him to the fire doused in gasoline. But even just the past two games have shown the duality of DominAyton.
On Tuesday, the 7-footer shot 10-of-17 against the Jazz (both season highs), including a season-best 22 points. Then he followed up his most impressive game as a Trail Blazer with a tough 3-for-10 night versus Cleveland on Wednesday, playing a season-low 26 minutes despite committing just three fouls.
Assuming Ayton’s dud against the Cavs is a byproduct of facing “Twin Towers” Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, those types of outputs should be outliers. But the larger theme remains: Fans want more Ayton, and there might not be a better time than now for Billups to test him out.
The DeAndre Ayton Experience
The question, of course, becomes, how do you do this? What should the Ayton experience look like?
For starters, more pick-and-rolls. A lot more.
There’s no getting around the fact that Scoot and Simons were always going to be downgrades from pick-and-roll gods Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. And now, thanks to injuries, asking backups with fewer reps and lesser skill sets to become key distributors is begging for growing pains across the rotation.
That said, Ayton is down significantly in pick-and-roll possessions this season. That should rise when both Scoot and Simons return, but if you’re Billups and the Blazers, you can’t make your 25-year-old starting center wait around, especially with Mays averaging 4.5 assists per game, not to mention an impressive 9.3 APG over his last four.
Let Ayton Eat
If Billups is waiting for reinforcements before tossing Ayton into the deep end of the roll game, he can start with more post-ups in the meantime. Ayton has never been a reliable, go-to option in isolation post-up situations, but his touches in the frontcourt are down, which could stunt both development and confidence in Year 1 with a new group.
At this point, Ayton has the right to go to work and learn from both his in-game wins and any Ls he takes along the way. Quite frankly, letting Ayton expand his game and take his bumps will be fine in a year where winning won’t be a priority.
Ayton himself said just last week that the “food tastes better” when the effort is there and when you can feel good about getting to the next game, win or loss.
That’s the right attitude, which has been another theme for Ayton since arriving, and it’s all the more reason to feed the big man starting now if you’re Portland.
