Devin Booker's backhanded compliment of Deandre Ayton explains what went wrong in Phoenix
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.
Happy Thanksgiving NBA fans. We’re still a day away from the holiday and some good eats, but with no games Thursday and some really good action tonight, it’s a great day to be thankful.
Before we get to Wednesday’s action, though, I want to talk about a game from Tuesday that might have gone under the radar because it involved the Portland Trail Blazers, who aren’t very good. Portland visited the Phoenix Suns in Deandre Ayton’s first game against his old team, and he actually played OK, despite a mixed crowd reaction to his return, including some boos.
Ayton matched his second-highest scoring total of the season with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with eight rebounds and a season-high four assists. The game wasn’t particularly interesting — the Suns won by 13 — but what Ayton’s former teammate Devin Booker had to say after the game was.
Booker said it was fun competing against Ayton, noting how hard he played before issuing a challenge to the big man. “He played extra hard tonight. I seen that, and my challenge for him is to play like that every night.”
Devin Booker on facing Deandre Ayton: “It’s fun….He played extra hard tonight. I seen that, and my challenge for him is to play like that every night.” pic.twitter.com/hLVeSPV3hq
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) November 22, 2023
Ouch. That has to sting if you’re Ayton, even if it started as a compliment. It’s already doing the rounds on social media, getting a good laugh out of Kyle Kuzma, among others. But if Booker’s challenge is coming from a place of honesty, it’s a perfect illustration of went wrong in Phoenix the last few years.
The Suns were a team that needed Ayton to be their third- and sometimes second-best player to reach their championship potential. If he wasn’t playing with maximum effort, though, they never stood a chance, especially as Chris Paul aged. An effort problem would explain why they never quite got there, why Ayton fell out with former Suns coach Monty Williams after their surprising exit from the 2022 playoffs, and why they needed to trade for Kevin Durant last season.
Ultimately, that final move in Ayton’s tenure wasn’t enough to lift Phoenix either, so they moved on from Ayton to add different pieces around a new core. Booker’s challenge was blunt and his observation already obvious to a lot of people, but unless Ayton takes it to heart, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be part of another winning core again.
Damian Lillard is a fan of the In-Season Tournament
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
The first spots in the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals were clinched by the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night, with both winning to remain unbeaten in group play.
Tournament games count toward the regular season, but they seem to be serving their intended purpose of bringing the best competition out of teams. Indiana’s latest win came in a 309-point thriller against the Atlanta Hawks, where 12 players scored in double-figures, including dueling 30-point games between Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young.
The competition should only intensify once the tournament reaches the knockout stage on Dec. 4, and it’s not just the NBA Cup trophy that has players going hard. As Damian Lillard perfectly explained last week, the prize money is actually a big deal for players and staff who don’t make as much as himself.
Damian Lillard wants that In-Season Tournament prize money… but mostly for teammates who are not so well off financially: "You got guys on two-way contracts who are trying to earn a stay and that prize in the end could change their family's lives." pic.twitter.com/AQSaQDyQcQ
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) November 16, 2023
Required reading: The NBA In-Season Tournament tiebreakers, explained
“I think as a leader and as somebody who cares about your teammates, especially your younger teammates – you got guys on two-way contracts, guys who are trying to earn their stay. And you know that prize in the end, it could change their families lives,” Lillard said. “And I think, you don’t want to make everything about money, but that’s something that we can do for the people around us.”
It’s a terrific point by Lillard, who seems to carry that responsibility proudly as someone who can actually control so much of what happens on the court for his team.
Related: Wizards loss to Hornets a glimpse of what to expect from bad teams in the in-season tournament
One to Watch
(All odds via BetMGM)
Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Milwaukee Bucks (+150) at Boston Celtics (-4.5; -185), 7:40 p.m. ET
Moving on to tonight’s action, as promised, we’ll get our first glimpse of the two favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference with a meeting between the Bucks and Celtics. The game is also a potential In-Season Tournament knockout game preview, which is something I hadn’t considered until now. Wow. We could see these teams playing with actual stakes sooner than later.
Regardless, Wednesday’s game should be a good one, especially with it being Jrue Holiday’s first game against the team he helped win a championship. Remember when his wife called it personal after the Bucks traded him? Yeah, I don’t think those feelings have gone anywhere just yet.
Boston came out the gates hot this season, soaring to the top of the East standings, but Milwaukee is starting to get into a groove with a five-game winning streak that has it up to second place. So, this is a true power-versus-power matchup, and I’m rolling with Milwaukee to cover the spread in what should be a great game. Another good one to keep an eye on Wednesday is 76ers at Timberwolves, and those are just two of 14 games on the schedule.
Shootaround
— Chet Holmgren’s confusing word-salad compliment to Kevin Durant became a hilarious meme
—LeBron James was genuinely shocked when he heard he was older than the Jazz head coach
—LeBron became the first player to crack 39,000 career points, and he’s still going
That’s it from me y’all. Enjoy the holiday, and check back Friday for more Layup Lines.