It took Deandre Ayton a while to adjust to Portland, both on and off the field. In November, he averaged 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, with a 59.2% success rate – solid numbers, but Ayton was passive most of the time and lacked the presence interior on which the Trail Blazers counted.
Since the All-Star break, the more aggressive Ayton has averaged 24.5 points and 14.2 assists per game on 64.3% shooting. What changed? Ayton spoke about this adjustment with Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, and part of his response left NBA Twitter perplexed.
“My body wasn’t just my body,” he said. “People forget the human difference of adapting to everything.”
This included something as routine as sleeping properly.
“Just being comfortable when you wake up,” he said. “I didn’t have a bed for a while. I was on an air mattress. I’m just trying to understand this.
Do you need time to adjust to a new city and a new routine? Natural. This destabilizes a lot of players. Are you worried about your family and children and how they are adjusting to a new city? Of course, this should be a matter of concern.
Sleeping on an air mattress? I understand that as a seven footer he doesn’t order a standard mattress, but I’m not the first person to say this: a quick Google search and a credit card can have a mattress at your door in 24 hours . I did it. There is a huge industry built around this. Many people reading this have done this. Finding a bed just isn’t that difficult.
Consistency has never been Ayton’s mark. This streak of strong play – when the team was no longer in contention for anything – is positive, but can they extend it into next season as Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson and the rest of this core continue to develop oneself ? Portland should be ready to take a step forward next season, but showing maturity, development and consistency is part of it. Ayton needs to show all of that too.
And get a good night’s sleep more often.
