Los Angeles Lakers fans cringed during a painful stretch early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that sequence, center Deandre Ayton showed a lack of aggression on defense and weak box-out effort, enabling the Thunder to secure consecutive offensive rebounds and finish with a layup from Ajay Mitchell.
Ayton was immediately pulled from the game afterward and did not return for the remainder of the night. The moment seemed to capture the growing frustration Lakers supporters have felt toward Ayton for much of this season.
Following the Lakers’ 131-108 loss, head coach JJ Redick took a diplomatic approach when questioned about Ayton. He praised the big man as “special” and highlighted his strong performance during the previous series against the Houston Rockets.
“I’ve been around DA for a season now,” Redick said. “I know how special he is for our group to succeed. And I told him this morning, I said to him in the Houston series at one point he was the big part of the reason we were winning the series. He was a big part of the reason we won the series. I believe in him and he’s going to help us win tomorrow.”
Against the Rockets, Ayton averaged 11.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, grabbing 43 boards over the final three contests of that series. He consistently battled Houston All-Star center Alperen Sengun in the low post, forcing Sengun to work for every point despite often achieving his usual scoring output.
The Lakers may not need Ayton to contribute many points, but they require his inspired play on defense and the boards to stay alive against the defending NBA champions. Game 4 is set for Monday at Crypto.com Arena.