Denver Nuggets: Five storylines in the Phoenix Suns series
By Sean Carroll
Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns: Nikola Jokic vs Deandre Ayton
In the Denver Nuggets postgame interview after Game 6 of the Portland series, Nikola Jokic only had praise for his next matchup Deandre Ayton.
"“He’s amazing. Give the guy credit. He’s amazing. He’s really solid. He knows like what he needs — I think that’s the best thing a young player can have: that mindset.”"
And through these playoffs, Ayton has been amazing. In 36 minutes a night, he’s putting up averages of 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, and nearly a block while shooing 80 percent from the floor. Yes, 80. He’s finding holes in the defense off the creation of Devin Booker and CP3 and excelling.
When Ayton was on the court in the Lakers series, the Suns had a 143 offensive rating which is just bonkers when you realize that’s in 36 minutes. On top of that, his 106 defensive rating in that series is elite in its own right, albeit not ‘bonkers’.
In the three head-to-head matchups this season, the Nuggets have won twice but Ayon has looked dominant (DominAyton anyone?). In the second matchup, 22 Jan. 2021, Ayton had 27 points and 13 rebounds on 11-13 shooting.
Since Chris Paul came to town, Ayton’s shot profile has transformed from a buffet of anything he thinks he can make to a consistent diet of rolling dunks and shots in the paint. His shots at the rim rose by nine percent from the season prior and mid-range attempts dropped nine percent compared to the season prior per Cleaning the Glass.
It’ll be a clash of two different styles with Jokic obviously the hub of Denver’s offense, touching it almost every time down. Ayton will be getting baskets where he can, playing off of others.
The former number one overall pick has seen his fair share of criticism in his career, mainly for being drafted ahead of Luka Doncic, but he has developed into a worthy starting center and is playing the best basketball of his young career. He just so happens to be facing off against the presumptive MVP and another center playing the best basketball of his young career.