The Los Angeles Lakers added Deandre Ayton this past offseason. Ayton endured an underwhelming Lakers debut, but there is potential for him in LA if he can develop chemistry with Luka Doncic. Doncic understands what it takes to find the roll man in the pick-and-roll, so the duo could be quite dangerous if they get on the same page. Ayton previously played with Chris Paul and Devin Booker — and he compared Doncic and Austin Reaves to his former teammates on Friday.
“He (Doncic) talks with his eyes,” Ayton told reporters, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You have great play-makers, like CP, and playing with Book. You can tell, you have that one conversation with them and they know what you want. They all geniuses… They know the game. They're already picking teams apart… Just adding another guy, where I'm putting pressure on the rim. I'm giving them what they want, how they want their screens set… It's a timing thing.”
The ingredients are present for success. The Lakers are still finding their rhythm as a team overall. LeBron James is out with injury, which forces an adjustment given how important of a presence he is in the lineup.
So, how can Ayton continue to build chemistry with play-makers such as Doncic and Reaves? Well, his experience of playing with a star point guard like Paul could help matters.
“It's a thing where you're reading the defense together, you're on the same page,” Ayton continued. “It's like watching a movie together, ‘you see what I see?' Things like that. I'm starting to see AR (Reaves) and Luka show me things that they like, because I've been around, where CP3 is more of a slow shifty guy, that's what Luka gives me.”
The Lakers will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
