One of the news stories surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers this week has been head coach JJ Redick saying that Deandre Ayton has expressed some frustration with a lack of touches.
The Lakers played back-to-back games against the Memphis Grizzlies, and the difference between them was stark for Ayton. In the first game, he scored four points on 2-of-4 from the field with six rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Redick went with Jaxson Hayes over Ayton to close that contest for the first time this season.
But then on Sunday night, he had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds in 34 minutes.
Ayton got more opportunities across the board against the same team just two days apart. He then, in a way, confirmed the rumors that he was frustrated and wanted to be more involved.
“Bigs can’t feed themselves and I just try my best to do what I can to bring effort and I trust my playmakers out there to find me,” Ayton said after the win when asked about his frustration that Redick mentioned.
The Lakers need Ayton to be his most engaged in order for the team to be successful. They already lack significant big man depth and already struggle defensively. Ayton feeling slighted or checking out would be disastrous to any hopes the team has of a turnaround to contention this season.
L.A.’s offense is certainly better when everyone is getting involved. The ball stopping with Luka Doncic or LeBron James or Austin Reaves for too long has shown to slow everything down and ultimately hurt the Lakers, so getting everyone involved is a winning maneuver as well.
But this was one of the potential risks of bringing Ayton in as the starting center. He’s a supremely talented player with all the tools to be a successful center in the NBA, but he has — at times — let his frustrations get the best of him and mentally checked out on the team he’s playing for.
If it happens alongside Doncic and James in L.A., it would reflect worse on Ayton than the Lakers. But it would still lead to bad results for the team this season.
JJ Redick calls out Lakers for lack of execution on ATOs
Redick has dealt with plenty of challenges in his second season as the head coach of the Lakers. He’s dealt with significant rotational injuries and poor defensive output, but one of his biggest frustrations is on after timeout actions.
He admitted after Friday’s win against the Grizzlies that the team ran eight out of 12 ATOs incorrectly, despite having kept the same playbook the entire season so far.
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