Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley chimed in on the whole DeAndre Ayton situation, and how the prized Phoenix Suns big man has recently been suspended for 25 games for violating the league's anti-doping policy.
Barkley, who himself is a Suns legend for the great things he did with the franchise during his four-year tenure with Phoenix, joked that the NBA may have decided to test Ayton in disbelief of how the Suns were able to convincingly defeat the Sacramento Kings, 124-95, in their opening night matchup on Wednesday.
#Suns legend Charles Barkley sounds off on Deandre Ayton's 25-game suspension for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy. Ayton tested positive for a diuretic, which are banned because they can mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs. #12Sports pic.twitter.com/RVBXi4IaWb
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) October 25, 2019
For his part, Ayton produced an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, on a highly-efficient 9-of-14 shooting Wednesday night. The second-year center also swatted away four shots, recorded one steal, and logged zero turnovers in a very impressive 33 minutes of play.
This was the exactly the type of start Suns fans were hoping for from their cornerstone big man, but the news that he will be suspended for roughly four months was definitely somethings that was hard to stomach.
True enough, the Suns lost their first game without Ayton on Friday, as they fell to the Denver Nuggets, 108-107. Phoenix did push Denver to their very limit, though, with the Nuggets needing an extra period to put away a resilient Suns side.
Phoenix newcomer Aron Baynes started at the five spot for Phoenix, taking over the post recently vacated by Ayton. The former Boston Celtics big man was quite productive in his first start, accounting for 15 points (on 6-of-10 shooting), one three-pointer, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal, before fouling out after 29 minutes of action.
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