Arizona Basketball: Is the criticism of Deandre Ayton fair?

Former Arizona Basketball star and Phoenix Suns top draft pick Deandre Ayton is receiving heat for his performance on the court.

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There are peaks and valleys in life and how one handles them determines their character. Some people crumble under the pressure, while others preservere and continue to strive for success. As for former Arizona Basketball great Deandre Ayton it has yet to be seen how he will handle the pressure and criticism as a professional athlete. It will only intensify here in the valley of the sun from here on out.

Ayton being the number one draft pick in the 2018 draft by the Phoenix Suns, brought hope to the valley that their beloved basketball franchise might finally be turning the corner. A franchise that has not seen the playoffs in eight years and has been a hard team to watch since the days of Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

Now the Suns have a duo of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton that has drawn comparisons to Kobe and Shaq back in their prime. While it is still early on in both of their careers, it is safe to say that up to this point, the season has not gone as planned.

While the Suns have been plagued by injuries lately to both of their top scorers in Devin Booker and T.J. Warren and drastically changed their roster coming into the season, it has not taken any of the criticism off of Ayton. One of the major gripes that the local media and fan base has with Ayton is that his defense is lacking. This is leading to easy dunks or layups around the rim for the opposing team.

It has reached the point where some local sports media has called for Ayton to benched to start the game. In hopes that this will light a spark or turn on the light bulb for Ayton to put more energy and focus on the defense end.

As for Ayton, it seems like he still trying to figure it out himself after receiving heat from the media after another loss to the Miami Heat that has the Suns sitting at a franchise-worst start 4-22.

Just like every story, there are two sides to it and it all depends on who you ask. The media tends to stir the pot and make a story bigger than it seems. Also, the Suns are located in Phoenix, Arizona which is closer to ASU than it is to U of A which means some of this criticism could be derived from the rivalry.

However, it is not all bad for the rookie out of Arizona. As the numbers show, he is having a stellar rookie season. So far this season, Ayton has been tracking right along with the best to play the game which would include players such as all-time greats like Shaq and Tim Duncan.

Not only is Ayton getting the job done but he is doing it in a very efficient manner. When looking at the numbers through the first twenty games of the season, Ayton has made the same number of shots as Patrick Ewing with 149. The key is that Ayton has taken 61 fewer shots than Ewing did to reach this point.

If one was to say by the end of his career, he would be seen in the same light as Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan or Shaq, it would be hard to see many people being critical of the big man out of the University of Arizona. For now, the critics can have their say, but in the long run, Ayton will prove them wrong.

As the saying goes, “If you change the way you look at things. The things you look at will change”. This is also known as a perspective which is needed when looking at Ayton’s young NBA career. As it is unfair to close the book on a rookie who is just getting started and doing it at a recorded pace.