There's no denying that Deandre Ayton has been one of the key reasons why the Phoenix Suns have been successful against the Los Angeles Lakers. The defending champs have pretty much had no answer to Ayton all series long, and for his part, Suns head coach Monty Williams has tried to put into words why Ayton's rapid development has been nothing short of surprising.
According to Williams, it all boils down to Ayton's attitude and work ethic:
“I think his focus during the playoffs has been something that doesn’t surprise me — I just didn’t expect him, as young as he is, to be locked in,” Williams said, via Trevor Booth of Bright Side of the Sun. “And he’s been listening to Chris [Paul], all of our older guys when it comes to the experience, the playoff mentality and everything he’s doing in the weight room. I’ll look over in the weight room and he’s doing something in the weight room that I have never seen him do before, and it’s usually something that Chris has in his program.”
It certainly does not look like Ayton is playing in the first playoff series in his career. He's looking like a tested vet, and the fact that he's doing all this against a side like the Lakers makes it even more impressive.
In case you were wondering how dominant Ayton has been in the first four games of the series, take a look at this tidbit:
📈 In the last 35 years, only players with 75+ points and 50+ rebounds through first 4 career playoff games:
▪️Deandre Ayton
▪️Shaquille O’Neal
▪️David Robinson
▪️Patrick Ewing#RallyTheValley 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 pic.twitter.com/kxbjoWBI1m— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) May 31, 2021
Williams continued to heap praise on the Suns' prized big man, sharing how much hard work Ayton has put in to get to this point:
“DA has really bought into embracing the whole experience, from exercise, drills to just focusing on the game plan,” Williams added. “He’s watching a ton of film on his own, so I just think he’s embracing the experience. To be as young as he is and his first time going through it, I did not expect him to be where he is right now as far as his focus and attention to detail and the level of force that he’s playing with.”
The series is far from over though, and the Suns will need more of the same from Ayton the rest of the way as they look to sensationally dethrone the defending champs in the opening round.
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