<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-reveals-how-trolling-unlocked-best-game-for-la');   ga('set', 'title', 'Deandre Ayton reveals how ‘trolling’ unlocked best game for Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton-5-reacts-to-a-call.jpg"><figcaption>© Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Deandre Ayton reveals how ‘trolling’ unlocked best game for Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T23:57:08-07:00">October 26th, 11:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T23:57:08-07:00">October 26th, 11:57pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Deandre Ayton is about as far as a fan favorite as one can get in his previous stops. The Phoenix Suns shipped him out for depth pieces. The Portland Trail Blazers decided that buying him out was worth it. And through his first game or so as a member of his newest team, the Los Angeles Lakers, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-shea-serrano-la-fans-thinking-deandre-ayton">fans were already starting to give up on him</a>, citing effort issues and general lethargy on the court.</p><p>But the Lakers need him now more than ever; with Luka Doncic joining LeBron James on the mend and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-gabe-vincent-leaves-kings-game-concerning-injury">Gabe Vincent looking like he’s headed</a> for a multi-game absence, the Purple and Gold needs someone to step up alongside Austin Reaves. That’s exactly what Ayton did on Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, as he put up his best game as a Laker, dropping 22 points, 15 boards, a steal, and a block in a 127-120 win.</p><p>Reaves just needed someone to take a bit of offensive load off of him amid his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-lebron-james-gives-austin-reaves-tough-label-51-point-masterclass">career-best 51-point outing</a>, and Ayton provided some relief. It does look like the Lakers’ trolling of Ayton <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1982672655514997082" rel="noopener">is working</a>, as the team’s starting center admitted that the negative motivation he’s been getting from teammates is getting him riled up to the point that he simply wants to be at his best on the court at all times.</p><p>“They be trying to get me ticked off before these games, just to get me rolling. … This is a thing y’all want to do. Y’all want to get me on edge. Y’all want me fired up. I like it. … They always messing with me, just talking to me. … It’s just trolling. They love my reactions over there. I be caught off guard with some of them. But I love it, man, trust me. It’s just making me play hard when it counts now,” Ayton said in his postgame presser, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“They be trying to get me ticked off before these games, just to get me rolling.” Deandre Ayton, after putting up 22 pts and 15 reb against the Kings, explains how his teammates sometimes “troll” him to get him riled up. He says it helps him perform better and it shows they care. <a href="https://t.co/5gxvDmaTMB">pic.twitter.com/5gxvDmaTMB</a></p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1982672655514997082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Has Deandre Ayton found his groove for the Lakers?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_0254.jpeg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ayton’s stock was at all-time low, which is why he was available for the Lakers to sign on the midlevel exception. (He didn’t even get the entirety of their MLE.) But there might not be a better place for him to rehab his value, as he’s now playing alongside three exceptional playmakers in Doncic, James, and Reaves.</p><p>Perhaps a revenge game is in the cards for Ayton; the Lakers will be facing the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow night on the second of a back-to-back set, and that matchup will be personal for the 27-year-old big man.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Deandre Ayton reveals how ‘trolling’ unlocked best game for Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-deandre-ayton-timberwolves-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_0254.jpeg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T17:56:05-07:00">October 26th, 5:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T17:56:05-07:00">October 26th, 5:56pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers were able to get into the win column on Friday night after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 128-110. While much of the postgame focus was on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-makes-la-history-back-to-back-40-point-games">Luka Doncic’s franchise record-setting night</a>, a huge part of the win was <a href="https://x.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1981931314954862907" rel="noopener">the increased aggressiveness of</a> Deandre Ayton, especially in the second half of the game.</p><p>For Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, he noticed a shift in Deandre Ayton’s focus coming out of halftime, and he made sure to tap into that to get Ayton fired up.</p><p>“Especially in the second half. . .the first half he didn’t really play that well. After the first half coming out into the third quarter, I saw in his eyes that he was locked in. So I was like, ‘come on DA, let’s go,’” Hachimura said. “He was amazing, rebounding, just being  presence on defense, on offense. . .he did all that we asked for, he was the man.”</p><p>In the win against the Timberwolves, Ayton finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and one blocked shot in 31 minutes. He shot 7-of-11 from the field. Ayton’s Lakers debut on opening night against the Golden State Warriors wasn’t bad; he finished with ten points and six rebounds while shooting 5-of-7 from the field.</p><p>The only issue with Ayton’s first game was that he was a little bit passive. That and it’s clear he’s still building cohesiveness with his new teammates. Following the loss to the Warriors, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-admission-fans-up-in-arms">Ayton admitted that it’s sometimes confusing</a> for teammates to play with a center like him.</p><p>But on Friday, the rest of the team, especially Doncic, made a concerted effort to look for Ayton around the basket. He played with force and aggression, and it felt like half of Doncic’s eight assists were off Ayton’s finishes.</p><p>With the Lakers’ two top scorers in Doncic and LeBron James now sidelined for the time being, this upcoming stretch of games is a chance for Ayton to be even more assertive on the offensive end.</p><p>Throughout his career, the former No. 1 overall pick has always put up borderline All-Star numbers. He holds career averages of 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 59 percent shooting from the field and 75.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Following the Lakers’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they come back home on Monday for the second game of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-why-rui-hachimura-deandre-ayton-strong-bond');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Deandre-Ayton.jpg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T12:22:39-07:00">October 24th, 12:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T12:22:39-07:00">October 24th, 12:22pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-admission-la-chemistry">Lakers are still finding chemistry</a> with the new players on their team, and it looks like things are coming along easily. For Deandre Ayton, he has some familiar faces that he knows on the team, one of whom includes Rui Hachimura from some time ago. Hachimura recently <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1981786613845045628" rel="noopener">spoke about his bond</a> with Ayton and where they first met.</p><p>“He has an interesting personality,” Hachimura said. “I love him already. He’s a character. I think me and him are the same age almost. I know him from NBA camp when I was 16, the NBA Without Borders. I was with him that year, so it’s funny to see that it was 10, 12 years ago, and now we’re teammates.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“He has an interesting personality. I love him already. He’s a character.” Rui Hachimura on new Lakers center, Deandre Ayton. Hachimura also shared a funny story about when he first met Ayton at Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Toronto during the 2016 All-Star Weekend. <a href="https://t.co/KusLJQRfdq">pic.twitter.com/KusLJQRfdq</a></p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1981786613845045628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s good that Hachimura and Ayton are building something off the court, and that should make things easy on the court. Ayton didn’t have a big game in his season debut for the Lakers against the Golden State, but he did what he could to make his presence known.</p><p>As the season progresses, he should be able to get more acclimated with the team, especially with players such as Luka Doncic, who will be feeding him passes for the most part in the pick-and-roll and the paint.</p><h2><b>Lakers still figuring out chemistry with Deandre Ayton</b></h2><p>After their loss against the Warriors, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-admission-fans-up-in-arms">Ayton made an admission</a> that had some fans scratching their heads to start the season.</p><p>“Today I realized, I’m probably a confusing big, when I can roll and stand just in the pocket. It’s probably a little difficult for them sometimes. I’m so used to the league having that low man on me, so sometimes I can’t even finish a roll,” Ayton said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.</p><p>The pick-and-roll will be key for this team’s success, and Ayton will be involved in those plays a lot. Ayton has a unique skillset where he can pop and shoot a jumpshot, or he can roll to the basket. Once he and the ball handler get on the same page, the play should become seamless. Some fans have already grown tired of Ayton after just watching him in the preseason and the first game of the regular season, but they have to give him some time before making quick judgments.</p><p>Things could get even more confusing when LeBron James returns, as he hasn’t been able to play with Ayton at all yet.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-chris-paul-comparison-deandre-ayton');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Luka Doncic draws intriguing Chris Paul comparison from Deandre Ayton');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Luka-Doncic-dribbling-the-ball-against-Warriors.jpg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Luka Doncic draws intriguing Chris Paul comparison from Deandre Ayton</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T11:58:02-07:00">October 24th, 11:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T11:58:02-07:00">October 24th, 11:58am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers added Deandre Ayton this past offseason. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-shaq-deandre-ayton-warning-shaky-debut">Ayton endured an underwhelming Lakers debut</a>, but there is potential for him in LA if he can develop chemistry with Luka Doncic. Doncic understands what it takes to find the roll man in the pick-and-roll, so the duo could be quite dangerous if they get on the same page. Ayton previously played with Chris Paul and Devin Booker — and <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1981789896416317831" rel="noopener">he compared</a> Doncic and Austin Reaves to his former teammates on Friday.</p><p>“He (Doncic) talks with his eyes,” Ayton told reporters, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You have great play-makers, like CP, and playing with Book. You can tell, you have that one conversation with them and they know what you want. They all geniuses… They know the game. They’re already picking teams apart… Just adding another guy, where I’m putting pressure on the rim. I’m giving them what they want, how they want their screens set… It’s a timing thing.”</p><p>The ingredients are present for success. The Lakers are still finding their rhythm as a team overall. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-lebron-james-injury-timeline-update-patient-approach">LeBron James is out with injury</a>, which forces an adjustment given how important of a presence he is in the lineup.</p><p>So, how can Ayton continue to build chemistry with play-makers such as Doncic and Reaves? Well, his experience of playing with a star point guard like Paul could help matters.</p><p>“It’s a thing where you’re reading the defense together, you’re on the same page,” Ayton continued. “It’s like watching a movie together, ‘you see what I see?’ Things like that. I’m starting to see AR (Reaves) and Luka show me things that they like, because I’ve been around, where CP3 is more of a slow shifty guy, that’s what Luka gives me.”</p><p>The Lakers will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Luka Doncic draws intriguing Chris Paul comparison from Deandre Ayton

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-shaq-deandre-ayton-warning-shaky-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaq slaps DeAndre Ayton with ‘step it up’ warning after shaky Lakers debut');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Ayton-dribbles.jpg"><figcaption>David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Shaq slaps DeAndre Ayton with ‘step it up’ warning after shaky Lakers debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T10:33:50-07:00">October 23rd, 10:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T10:33:50-07:00">October 23rd, 10:33am</time><address><a>Jayesh Pagar</a>Jayesh Pagar is currently pursuing Sports Journalism from the London School of Journalism and brings four years of experience in sports media coverage. He has contributed extensively to NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football content, delivering in-depth analysis and breaking news coverage across multiple platforms.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-admission-fans-up-in-arms">DeAndre Ayton’s debut fell short of expectations</a>, with the center managing just 10 points and six rebounds in a 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. His quiet performance immediately drew criticism from Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.</p><p>O’Neal <a href="https://x.com/NBA__Courtside/status/1981123718173905174" rel="noopener">didn’t hold back in his message</a> to Ayton.</p><p>“Listen, DeAndre, ‘Domin-Ayton’ that performance you had yesterday, I need you to step it up, my boy,” Shaq said in a video posted by NBA Courtside. “You got to do three things. You got to rebound, and you got to block shots, and you got to dominate.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">SHAQ WITH A MESSAGE FOR DEANDRE AYTON 👀 <a href="https://t.co/kDOfJLrNxb">pic.twitter.com/kDOfJLrNxb</a></p><p>— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA__Courtside/status/1981123718173905174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Shaq specifically called out Ayton for settling for a fadeaway when guarded by a smaller defender.</p><p>“You had a small guy guarding you in the post. You turn around and shoot a fadeaway. That’s not going to get it done,” O’Neal continued. “When they make the little bounce pass, catch it and throw it down.”</p><p>Ayton struggled to find his rhythm throughout the opener, with most of his production coming late in the fourth quarter after three quiet periods. He shot 5-of-7 from the field but recorded just one block across 34 minutes. While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luke-doncic-personal-record-43-point-outburst-vs-warriors">Luka Doncic dropped 43 points</a> and Austin Reaves added 26 points, Ayton went 0-for-2 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 4 times in a game where the Lakers committed 20 turnovers.</p><p>Doncic <a href="https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-that-was-on-me-luka-doncic-accepts-blame-deandre-ayton-s-lack-involvement" rel="noopener">acknowledged his role</a> in Ayton’s limited impact postgame. “I have to do a better job… Not giving him enough touches, probably,” the star guard said, noting that Ayton “prefers that pocket pass” in pick-and-roll situations, via Ernesto Cova of Sportskeeda.</p><p>The focus now shifts to building better chemistry between Ayton and his new teammates, particularly in screen-and-roll actions. With LeBron James sidelined and the Lakers needing consistent frontcourt production, Ayton will have another chance to prove himself Friday against the Timberwolves and defensive anchor Rudy Gobert at Crypto.com Arena.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.8	9.3	1.0	1.0	0.8

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
15.8	9.3	1.0	1.0	0.8

Deandre Ayton

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Shaq slaps DeAndre Ayton with ‘step it up’ warning after shaky Lakers debut

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