DeAndre Ayton has taken some time to get used to Portland, both on and off the court. Although Ayton had good numbers in November, averaging 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.2%, he was not the inside presence the Trail Blazers were looking for and was often passive.
An increasingly assertive Ayton has averaging 24.5 points and 14.2 assists per game on 64.3% shooting since the All-Star break. What altered? When Ayton discussed that adjustment with Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, some of his response confused NBA Twitter. He said,
“My body wasn’t just my body,”
“People forget the humane difference of me adjusting to everything.”
That included something as routine as getting proper sleep.
“Just being comfortable in waking up,” he said. “I didn’t have a bed for quite some time. I was on an air mattress. Just trying to figure this out.”
Is DeAndre Ayton just making excuses for his performances?
Players have problems of all sorts adjusting to new city, environment and even food for some.
They all invariably find a solution for it. Be it any sport, soccer, NFL or NBA. Players often move across continents and experience an entire new culture be it in form or language or cuisine.
That’s understandable and it takes time for some to get up to standards with others. A mattress ? No ways!
I call this a blatant excuse. DeAndre Ayton can have any mattress in the world and people to fix it up for him. As far as I’m concerned he’s often giving excuses and this isn’t going to be his last one.
Hopefully he can sleep better nowadays.