Deandre Ayton didn’t sound occupied with turning Monday’s follow interview into a private spotlight reel. Requested how he differs within the playoffs, the Lakers middle pushed the highlight away quick: “Y’all obtained to inform me. I don’t know.”
He saved going when the query got here again round. “You be asking me these difficult questions, man. I don’t know. Why you placing me in these predicaments? I’m uninterested in speaking about myself. Each time I discuss myself it’s quoted. So you bought it. You inform me the distinction.” For Ayton, the purpose was not self-analysis. It was maintaining the concentrate on the sequence.
That strategy matches the Lakers’ actuality coming into Sport 1 towards the Thunder. Luka Doncic is out with a left hamstring strain, and Ayton is aware of the margin in Oklahoma Metropolis will come right down to drive, endurance, and inside management greater than something flashy. “Taking part in greater,” he mentioned when requested what he must do towards the Thunder’s entrance line.
The problem is apparent within the numbers. Ayton has averaged 11.8 factors and 10.8 rebounds within the playoffs whereas taking pictures 60.4% from the sphere, and the Lakers want that effectivity to outlive towards a Thunder workforce that relentlessly touches the paint. Ayton known as Oklahoma Metropolis “a extremely unstoppable workforce” and mentioned his job is to “defend the paint as finest as I can and keep on the ground so long as doable.”
He additionally gave Marcus Sensible a powerful endorsement, particularly with the Lakers leaning on collective toughness with out Doncic and with Austin Reaves restricted to simply two video games within the first spherical. “Marcus is a real chief apart from Bron, Luka, and AR,” Ayton mentioned. “Marcus is the opposite man with the grit.” He added that Sensible “tries to be that man that places his arms round me and a number of the youthful guys.”
Ayton mentioned the workforce’s identification has hardened via its underdog path. “Actually simply staying vocal and staying collectively,” he mentioned. “Me and Marcus attempt to convey that edge on the defensive finish to make {that a} attribute of ours, to play onerous and depend on our protection to get offense and stuff like that going for us.”
The postseason return itself has mattered too. Ayton mentioned, “I simply find it irresistible. The eye to element and being constant, it’s true professionalism.” That very same focus will likely be examined by Oklahoma Metropolis’s crowd, which he described as overwhelming: “You may’t hear your self. It’s undoubtedly the Thunder for a cause.”
He completed with the form of reply that matched the tone of the day. “Everyone can do extra. Everyone has one other degree,” Ayton mentioned. “I really feel like that’s the place we’re proper now.”
