Of his last days with the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers Starting center Deandre Ayton has had a – what you might call – an unfavorable reputation with the media that followed him in his new franchise, fair or unfair.

The media accused Ayton of complaining about Phoenix’s engine and character. Then this season started with a flood of first negative reviews on an ineffective game, followed by the national outcry following a snow day, a controversial blasting of Athleticismit’s Jason Quick which defined Ayton’s first term in Portland by “delays and tantrums”, and national derision involving air mattresses.

It is with this lengthy preface that I present to you a glowing review of Ayton’s recent play from a national media outlet, courtesy of Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports.

In a recent article highlighting positive developments on bad teamsDevine praised Ayton’s play on both ends, writing that Ayton’s performance since returning from injury in late January seemed much closer to the former No. 1 overall pick’s great potential.

But after missing 15 games due to lingering soreness in his right knee – well, most of them were. about the kneeanyway – Ayton rose again, average better than 20 points and 12 rebounds per game at 63% shooting.

He still doesn’t attack the rim as much as you’d like someone with his physical tools to do; more than 60% of his shots were taken outside the restricted area, according to Clean the glass. He does however delight in the inner appearance he gets and has been burning from midrangewhile also carrying out work in the engine room at the other end, with bounce, steal and block rates that would be his best since 2021when he played an important role in the Suns’ qualification to the finals.

…And while Ayton was never presented as a Rudy Gobert-level paint patrol threat, he brought some of that monstrosity inside. Blazers opponents shot 56.1% at the rim when Ayton was defending in the last two monthsaccording to Second Spectrum tracking – 20th out of 129 players who defended at least three close shots per game during that span.

Devine said Ayton helped Portland’s youth climb out of the basketball pit to a more competitive level of play – once again bringing in the receipts to prove his point.

A revitalized and engaged Ayton — someone who can turn something like 20 or 25 percent of Portland’s possessions into effective offense, who can corral opposing bigs inside, and who can dominate and control the defensive glass — provides a line a stronger basis against which to measure growth and development. The Simons-Henderson training courses which have I vomited all over? They are almost in balance with Ayton on the floor. A Blazers defense that ranks 24th in points allowed per possession this season? It was about league average In Ayton’s minutesand elite in the limited minutes where he shares the court with hyperactive wings Camara and Matisse Thybulle.

In conclusion, Devine included a reference to analysis by Blazer’s Edge editor Dave Deckard, writing that Ayton’s recent piece can either provide much-needed answers or further confusion during an already confusing season. It all depends on whether Ayton can continue like this.

If what we see from Ayton doesn’t hold up – if it does, like Dave Deckard of Blazersedge suggests, more of a context-dependent aberration than a new normal – then it will only add to the confusion. The version we’ve seen over the past few months, however, could help Blazers executives better understand what they already have, what they still need and what they might sacrifice to get it.

You can read Devine’s full analysis here.

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