Ayton enjoys new offensive twists

LOS ANGELES – It’s usually the other way around.

Deandre Ayton setting a screen for Devin Booker so the franchise player can have more room to score or make a play for one of his teammates.

On Saturday night against Denver, it was different.

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Booker set a back screen on the much taller and much bigger Nikola Jokic to free Ayton for a dunk off an assist from Ricky Rubio.

This is all part of Monty Williams giving Ayton more opportunities to score and take advantage of what he believes is unlimited potential in the paint for the second-year center and top pick in the 2018 draft.

“I thanked him,” said Ayton, who averaged 18.7 points and 12 rebounds in 23 games before facing the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night. “He opened up the floor more for me. You can see how guys are guarding (Booker) and they crowd the paint and I roll every time, so we have our shooters open and we’re taking advantage of those open shots, so I love it. I told him I love it.”

He certainly should.

Going into Monday’s game, Ayton has been on a tear thanks in large part Williams making it a priority to get him the ball.

❚ vs. Denver – 28 points (13-of-21), 19 rebounds

❚ vs. Houston – 12 points (5-of-8), 6 rebounds

❚ at Detroit – 26 points (12-of-18), 12 rebounds

❚ at Brooklyn – 25 points (12-of-22), 17 rebounds

❚ at Milwaukee – 20 points (10-of-27), 14 rebounds

❚ vs. Oklahoma City – 16 points (8of-15), 6 rebounds

❚ at Dallas – 31 points (13-of-15), 9 rebounds.

❚ Total averages – 57.9%), 11.8 rpg.

“He’s a monster down there,” said Jokic, a first-team all-NBA selection last season. “He’s a big guy, he knows how to use his body. He just needs a little bit more experience and he’s going to be great. he’s going to be a really, really great player.” 22.5 ppg, (73of-126, point?

Devin Booker has been the start, middle and finish for Phoenix for most of his five-year NBA career, but that hasn’t resulted in even coming close to sniffing the postseason. Great scorer. Was All-Star worthy this season, but he can’t carry the offense by himself in the sense that her either score or make a play for someone else all the time. Enter Ayton.

Phoenix has shown in recent games that he’s going to be more an offensive factor, but the Suns need him to maximize these opportunities by getting to the line. As strong as this seven-game stretch has been for him, Ayton only got to the line a total of 15 times with five coming against Dallas.

Teams will trade Ayton going for 22 and 12 and not fouling out their front line if that means keeping Booker more pedestrian. Booker averaged essentially four fewer shot attempts than Ayton during that seven-game stretch.

He still averaged 25.4 points, which is a point short of his season average of 26.7. So Booker is going to score because that’s what he does, but Phoenix has to figure out how to get the max out of both guys to win and further improve the roster to create a team that makes it even more challenging to defend.

Kelly Oubre Jr. can get Phoenix 20 to 30 on any given night, but Ricky Rubio can be a liability on offense. Mikal Bridges is capable, but he’s spending most his energy guarding the best perimeter player.

Ayton draws attention to create open shots, but Phoenix is 21st in the league in 3-point percentage (34.8%). So the Suns aren't taking full advantage of that situation.

Defense is still Phoenix’s main issue. Well, defense and injuries, but defense is what is keeping them from being a playoff team. Ayton could help in that area as well.

He’s out of position far too many times for Phoenix’s taste, but then again, the Suns can’t keep guards out of the paint.

As of Monday, the Suns were six games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference held by Memphis, which owns the head-tohead tiebreaker over them.

They should still have postseason hopes, but this is an opportunity to find out what happens if Ayton is the focal point of the offense.

They’ll get offensive production, but wins remain hard to come by.