OKLAHOMA CITY — Coach and player aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on this one.
Igor Kokoskov wanted Deandre Ayton to start Saturday night’s game with “more sense of urgency” going up against “one of the best players in the world” in early NBA MVP candidate Anthony Davis.
“It’s a challenge, but the challenge should give him confidence in a way he should become aggressive and try to execute game plan,” Kokoskov said. “I think he was too passive to start the game. It’s a psychological moment, which is understandable. He’s a rookie playing against an All-Star, but I think he’s better than that in terms of being aggressive, being himself and just playing.”
Ayton was indeed in awe of Davis. He calls Davis his favorite NBA player right now.
“I was starstruck the whole game,” Ayton said. “I’ve been watching Anthony Davis since he was at Kentucky. Just playing against him was crazy. I play with him in ‘NBA 2K,’ too. Everything was accurate.”
So coach and player are on the same page in terms of awe, but Ayton didn’t quite understand what Kokoskov meant by saying he needs to start the game more aggressively.
“I don’t know what he means by that,” said Ayton, who now has eight double-doubles in his first 12 NBA games. “To me, I’m all about a rhythm. I’m a rhythm-type of player. I don’t hunt shots down. That’s not my play style. My play style is my teammates know where I want the ball and really feeling out the game. Not saying I’m on a late start. I’m still playing defense.”
Ayton had his share of breakdowns defensively Saturday, but he ended up with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the Suns’ 119-99 loss at New Orleans. Monday, he scored 14 points in a loss to the Thunder.
Ayton believes he can be aggressive when the ball is “in his area,” but he talked about playing with energy when it comes to crashing the boards and playing defense.
He had his share of struggles on defense, but grabbed six offensive boards, two more than Davis.
“I’m a rhythm player,” Ayton reiterated. “As you can see, I can score multiple times in possessions over and over and over, but once you shut me down, I have to go to something else. Rebounding. Defense. Just turn something up a notch. That’s just how I am. Once you shut off my scoring, that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop playing. I don’t get the aggressiveness.”
Kokoskov said Ayton, the top overall pick in this year’s draft, looked forward to facing Davis, a former No. 1 selection in 2012 out of Kentucky.
Davis got the better of Ayton not only in terms of numbers as he went for 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, but the final score, as well.
“I never thought I was going to face somebody as quick as me or as quick as him I should say,” Ayton said. “Just seeing how quick he moves, it’s insane, and strong at the same time. And bouncing. He’s going at me, but that’s the type of stuff I like. I’m like, I’m going to go straight at you, too.”
After the game, Davis gave Ayton some words of encouragement.
“He told me to keep going,” Ayton said. “That’s a green light. That’s another green light to keep going and I’m not going to stop. Keep going at people every time. Over and over and over and over.”
Davis also educated Ayton about how to get foul calls.
Davis drew three fouls on Ayton in the first half using his quickness, intellect and overall abilities. Ten of his 12 free-throw attempts came in the first half as Davis made each one.
“He uses his body in ways to get fouls easily,” Ayton said. “He was at the line a lot. I learned that. How to get to the line without even touching the ball.”
Ayton attempted just two free throws in 30 minutes, 21 seconds. This is where that aggressive knock on him gains validity. Davis, like all great players, has a rhythm to his game, but can turn it up a notch.
Ayton tends to play at the same pace and rarely shows that sense of urgency. When he does that, good things tend to happen for Phoenix.
There was a nearly three-minute stretch in the second half against Brooklyn when Ayton had six points on 3-of-4 shooting and two rebounds during a 9-0 run to cut the Nets’ lead from 14 down to five.
It is those moments when Ayton puts up impactful numbers to change the dynamic of a game that has Phoenix’s fans and head coach craving for that type of play out of him.
Then again, Ayton, being aggressive, got called for traveling when trying a spin move on the baseline against a smaller defender, but Kokoskov sounds like he can live with that.
“You’re going to make some mistakes, but that’s normal and expected for a young guy,” Kokoskov said.
Ayton only missed three shots Saturday night. He knocked down multiple jumpers and drew fouls by running down the middle of the floor, turning around and leaving the defender no choice but to grab him on the catch.
Davis got the better of him Saturday, but it wasn’t nearly as lopsided as when Ayton had no answer for Nikola Jokic and LaMarcus Aldridge earlier in the season.
