<!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>

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

<!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-admission-fans-up-in-arms');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Deandre Ayton makes ‘confusing’ admission that has fans up in arms');   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-dribbles-upcourt.jpg"><figcaption>© David Gonzales-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Deandre Ayton makes ‘confusing’ admission that has fans up in arms</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-22T08:01:26-07:00">October 22nd, 8:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-22T08:27:48-07:00">October 22nd, 8:27am</time><address><a>Rishabh Bhatnagar</a>Rishabh is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-steve-nash-skeptical-deandre-ayton-fit-with-luka-doncic">Los Angeles Lakers opened their season with a 119-109 loss against the Golden State Warriors</a> at home. While Luka Doncic top-scored in the game with 43 points, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-shea-serrano-la-fans-thinking-deandre-ayton">Deandre Ayton could only muster 10 points and six rebounds</a> off 5-7 shooting.</p><p>While he was efficient throughout the night, Ayton seemed to appreciate how he can be a difficult pick-and-roll target.</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,” he said, with Austin Reaves also previously stating that the timing on his passes to the Lakers’ <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1980901413032214566" rel="noopener">new center was problematic</a>, per a video posted by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Deandre Ayton admitted he might be a “confusing”pick-and-roll target after Austin Reaves blamed some of his five turnovers for making the “wrong pass at the right time” in the two-man game with the new Lakers center <a href="https://t.co/PFCgdd2kDG">pic.twitter.com/PFCgdd2kDG</a></p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1980901413032214566?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>Ayton stated that he may be better off lingering more around the free-throw area, claiming that “we’ve got to play some more.” That is understandable considering this was the 27-year-old’s first official game for the Lakers.</p><p>Regardless, the admission was not met kindly by fans, with a range of Lakers supporters airing their concerns. One fan posted a clip of Ayton’s pre-game workout, suggesting that the Lakers may not be focusing on the right things.</p><p>“Meanwhile this is him pregame. 🤦‍♂️,” they wrote.</p><p>“1 rebound in the 2nd half 7 feet tall by the way,” wrote another, clearly disappointed with the lack of rebounding.</p><p>“F**k the pick and roll. This big-for-nothing chump only had 6 damn rebounds. He’s 7’1 for crying out loud. Luka had twice as many. Sorry a** big man,” wrote another.</p><p>Others aired similar concerns, with one stating that Ayton’s tendencies may lead to considerable challenges.</p><p>“Ayton already messin with my Mental…..,” they wrote.</p><p>Another thought the coaching staff was at fault, rather than Ayton himself.</p><p>“Where’s the coaching on this? Seems the Lakers have as many coaches sitting on the bench as players. Who’s working this scheme? Maybe a new coach is needed and not another player. I have faith in Ayton’s skills but you need a scheme to make them happen,” they wrote.</p><p>Needless to say, while Ayton undoubtedly needs more time to gel with his teammates, most fans thought that this was too basic of an issue to actually be a problem.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Deandre Ayton makes ‘confusing’ admission that has fans up in arms

<!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-shea-serrano-la-fans-thinking-deandre-ayton');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shea Serrano says what Lakers fans are thinking about 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/Shea-Serrano-says-what-LA-fans-are-thinking-about-DeAndre-Ayton.jpg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Shea Serrano says what Lakers fans are thinking about Deandre Ayton</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-21T22:57:56-07:00">October 21st, 10:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-21T22:57:56-07:00">October 21st, 10:57pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Deandre Ayton made his much-anticipated debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, and well, it was, um, okay.</p><p>The Lakers lost to the Warriors, 119-109, at Crypto.com Arena <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-kickstarts-la-2025-26-season">despite the 43-point effort of Luka Doncic</a>. The Purple and Gold kept the game close until the fourth quarter, but the Warriors proved to be too much.</p><p>Ayton finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and one block in 34 minutes. He also had four turnovers.</p><p>While it was just one game, The Ringer’s Shea Serrano asked a <a href="https://x.com/SheaSerrano/status/1980847845692285383" rel="noopener">deeply existential question</a>: “What’s the fastest you’ve seen a team’s fan base decide they hate their new player? Because Deandre Ayton and Lakers fans might be making a run at that record.”</p><p>The 27-year-old Ayton looked out of place in several instances and seemingly lacked energy. He could still be adjusting to the system of coach JJ Redick, but getting the most minutes among the big men <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-player-shock-world-breakout-2025-26-season">should only help Ayton moving forward</a>.</p><p>Fans quickly rode on Serrano’s comment.</p><p>“He’s single-handedly selling for them, I’d be breaking out the pitchforks if I was a Lakers fan,” <a href="https://x.com/sportswithmina/status/1980848806632853550" rel="noopener">said</a> @sportswithmina.</p><p>“There’s a reason Portland paid him to go away,” <a href="https://x.com/rip_city_twelve/status/1980849396800794818" rel="noopener">added</a> @rip_city_twelve.</p><p>“Lakers fans are literally the only ones that didn’t see this coming,” <a href="https://x.com/_TylerReid_/status/1980848312162087308" rel="noopener">wrote</a> @_TylerReid_.</p><p>“I hope DA doesn’t go on social media too much cuz Lakers fans are gonna eat him alive. It’s not surprising,” <a href="https://x.com/drsabian123/status/1980866486018462144" rel="noopener">posted</a> @drsabian123.</p><p>“His barber needs to do an intervention,” <a href="https://x.com/topherstreet/status/1980848697723482411" rel="noopener">joked</a> @topherstreet.</p><p>Ayton signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth $16.6 million in the offseason after his injury-riddled two-season stint with the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shea Serrano says what Lakers fans are thinking about 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-steve-nash-skeptical-deandre-ayton-fit-with-luka-doncic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Steve Nash skeptical of Lakers’ Deandre Ayton’s fit with Luka Doncic');   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-77-with-center-Deandre-Ayton-5-against-the-Phoenix-Suns-during-an-NBA-preseason-game.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Steve Nash skeptical of Lakers’ Deandre Ayton’s fit with Luka Doncic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-17T09:30:43-07:00">October 17th, 9:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-17T09:30:43-07:00">October 17th, 9:30am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former NBA star and Hall of Famer Steve Nash expressed doubts about how effectively Deandre Ayton will mesh with Luka Doncic as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-bill-simmons-red-flags-will-sink-lakers-season">Los Angeles Lakers prepare to open the 2025-26 regular season</a> next week.</p><p>Speaking on The Zach Lowe Show, Nash discussed his concerns about Ayton’s offensive role and questioned whether the center’s style of play would complement Doncic’s ball-dominant, pick-and-roll-heavy approach.</p><p>“Ayton, I mean, he’s got to have a better year. We know he can put up numbers, but is he really going to roll? Like, that’s my big question there,” Nash said. “Is he really going to roll to the basket? Because it doesn’t really help the Lakers or Luka help the Lakers if he wants to pop or if he wants to slow down, you know, in the short role and become a playmaker. Like they really need him to want to be a little more dynamic, get in and out, get above the rim, be a vertical threat just to draw the defense, to ask questions so that Luka can do what he does and make the rest of that team better because they’re going to have problems defensively.”</p><h2><b>Steve Nash stresses Deandre Ayton’s rim-running role as key for Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Deandre-Ayton-5-and-forward-Jake-LaRavia-12-against-the-Phoenix-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Nash, who won two MVPs during his career and is widely regarded as one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history, emphasized that Ayton’s willingness to embrace a true rim-running role could determine how well the Lakers’ offense functions.</p><p>“I think they just don’t have like elite defenders at this stage,” Nash continued. “They have positional size, but for them, it’s going to be so important for him to make sure that offense hums, make sure he’s diving, letting Luka be at his best. Otherwise, you know, that delta between offense and defense will become really problematic.”</p><p>Nash’s comments come as the Lakers enter the final stretch of preseason play with several questions surrounding roster chemistry and health. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jj-redick-responds-to-lebron-james-tricky-injury">LeBron James remains sidelined with a sciatica injury</a> that has kept him out of training camp and all preseason games. The Lakers announced last week that the 40-year-old will miss the start of the regular season as he undergoes rehabilitation for nerve irritation in the glute. Head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-lebron-james-will-miss-start-of-2025-26-season-with-mysterious-side-injury">JJ Redick said the team will reevaluate James in three to four weeks</a>.</p><h2><b>Luka Doncic set to lead Lakers’ offense as Ayton looks to find rhythm before 2025-26 opener</b></h2><p>Meanwhile, Doncic is expected to lead the Lakers offense from the start. The 26-year-old averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists across 28 games last season after being acquired from the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster midseason trade for Anthony Davis</a>.</p><p>Ayton, 27, joined Los Angeles this summer after finalizing a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers. He <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-contract-free-agency-after-blazers-buyout">signed a two-year, $16.6 million contract</a> with a player option for the second season. In 40 games with Portland last year, he averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 56.6 percent from the field.</p><p>In Tuesday’s 113-104 preseason loss to the Phoenix Suns, Ayton recorded 10 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and one assist while shooting 4-for-9 from the field in 26 minutes. Despite the defeat, he showed flashes of defensive presence and rebounding ability — key elements the Lakers hope to build on.</p><p>The Lakers will conclude their preseason schedule Friday against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV before opening the regular season Tuesday, Oct. 21, against the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Peacock.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Steve Nash skeptical of Lakers’ Deandre Ayton’s fit with Luka Doncic

<!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-great-preseason-debut-deandre-ayton-problem');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Luka Doncic ‘felt great’ in preseason debut, but there was a Deandre Ayton problem');   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/2025/09/Luka-Doncic-looks-on.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Luka Doncic ‘felt great’ in preseason debut, but there was a Deandre Ayton problem</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-15T09:20:13-07:00">October 15th, 9:20am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-15T15:45:55-07:00">October 15th, 3:45pm</time><address><a>Rishabh Bhatnagar</a>Rishabh is a seasoned NBA and sports journalist and editor with over seven years of experience working for reputed organizations. A novelist first and foremost, he has written three fiction books. His high threshold of knowledge combined with his writing skills gives him the ability to write uniquely insightful pieces across basketball, soccer, cricket, lawn tennis, eSports, and a variety of other sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers have had a difficult time during their preseason campaign thus far, dropping to 1-3 after the latest 113-104 loss against the Phoenix Suns. However, fans got their first glimpse of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-star-luka-doncics-silly-stuff-leaves-mark-on-jj-redick-austin-reaves">Luka Doncic, who played 22 minutes and looked</a> his usual dominant self.</p><p>“I felt great. That was probably better than I expected. Those first games are kind of rusty, but I was just very happy to be out there again,” said Doncic, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6718257/2025/10/15/luka-doncic-lakers-suns-preseason-debut/" rel="noopener">played his first game</a> since Slovenia was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Germany at EuroBasket 2025, per The Athletic.</p><p>However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-aytons-stats-vs-suns-will-have-haters-backing-off">Doncic was playing his first game with center Deandre Ayton</a>, who is expected to start for the Lakers in the upcoming season. The two players connected just once in the game on a lob with Doncic’s five turnovers coming alongside several missed opportunities.</p><p>“I mean, it’s probably just more (on) me. Obviously, (I’m) the guard with the ball. But like I said, it’s more talking about it and what he likes. I know he likes the pocket, too. So I’m trying to get used to that too. But it’s just mostly talking about it and playing games,” the 26-year-old said, effectively claiming that he needs to play alongside the former Suns man more.</p><p>Ayton finished the game with a double-double, adding 10 points and 13 rebounds while also producing two steals and three blocks. Alongside Doncic, Austin Reaves also produced 25 points with four rebounds.</p><p>“Just getting out there and playing basketball for me is amazing. I missed it. I think you can see that. … I’m just happy to be on the basketball court again,” Doncic said.</p><p>Head coach JJ Redick rested multiple players, including Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers are set to play the second of their back-to-back on Wednesday against the Dallas Mavericks with multiple other starters expected to play a role.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Luka Doncic ‘felt great’ in preseason debut, but there was a Deandre Ayton problem

<!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-aytons-stats-vs-suns-will-have-haters-backing-off');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s stats vs. Suns will have haters backing off');   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-dribbles-upcourt.jpg"><figcaption>© David Gonzales-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s stats vs. Suns will have haters backing off</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-15T00:09:05-07:00">October 15th, 12:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-15T00:09:05-07:00">October 15th, 12:09am</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>The Los Angeles Lakers had a pressing need for a new starting center after they ended the 2024-25 campaign with such a thin frontcourt as they found themselves decimated by the Minnesota Timberwolves on the glass in the first round of the playoffs. They did address that need of theirs by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-should-la-fans-be-concerned-deandre-aytons-relationship-luka-lebron">bringing in Deandre Ayton</a> on a two-year, $16 million deal, but he was available for that cheap for a reason after the Portland Trail Blazers decided that they’d rather buy him out than have him on the team.</p><p>Ayton’s talent and athleticism can never be called into question. However, many fans have come to realize that his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-brutal-deandre-ayton-blazers-revelations-lakers-pause">effort levels wane and his motor comes and goes</a>. But the Lakers could not have afforded to be choosy considering the dearth of options at the center spot in free agency. Nonetheless, Ayton is showing signs of life in Purple and Gold after he stuffed the stat sheet on Tuesday night in their 113-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>In just 26 minutes of play, Ayton <a href="https://x.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1978314087218966550" rel="noopener">had himself a double-double</a>, tallying 10 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 4-9 from the field. In addition to that, he also recorded three blocks and two steals, showing himself to be more of a force on the defensive end.</p><p>It’s not perfect, however; there were some moments where Ayton was just staring at the action, and there seems to be a general sense of lethargy in the way he moves.</p><p>But Ayton is a major presence in the paint and he can be a positive force on the defensive end when he’s locked in. He seems to be more motivated when he’s more involved on offense, and with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves setting him up and LeBron James eventually returning to do so, everything is set up for Ayton to thrive with the Lakers.</p><h2><b>Haters are not backing off of Lakers’ Deandre Ayton</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton-5-during-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ayton’s issue is never stuffing the stat sheet. It’s that his low effort levels allow his matchup to sometimes pop off as well. This was exactly what happened on Tuesday.</p><p>Khaman Maluach, who started for the shorthanded Suns, had his way with Ayton at times, and he put up 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on 8-10 shooting from the field in 31 minutes — prompting some major clowning to go the Lakers center’s way.</p><p>“Dominayton got outperformed by a rookie 😂,” X user @hanks391 <a href="https://x.com/hanks391/status/1978315259057504605" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p><p>“He was getting cooked all night,” @TheFreshestDoug <a href="https://x.com/TheFreshestDoug/status/1978314260376613330" rel="noopener">added</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Maluach with Ayton guarding him <a href="https://t.co/OpiD41La5W">pic.twitter.com/OpiD41La5W</a></p><p>— Drey (@edreyheras) <a href="https://twitter.com/edreyheras/status/1978314487599177952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">outplayed by a rookie <a href="https://t.co/OykUm1lLqM">pic.twitter.com/OykUm1lLqM</a></p><p>— chappie (mentally insane sports fan) (@TrentJordanFan) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrentJordanFan/status/1978314238830559573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s stats vs. Suns will have haters backing off

<!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-impact-offense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense');   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_0215.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-14T20:20:38-07:00">October 14th, 8:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-14T20:20:38-07:00">October 14th, 8:20pm</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 – Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ disappointing playoff flameout in the opening round last season, it was painfully obvious that their most glaring offseason need was a starting caliber center. After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-speaks-out-after-tough-los-angeles-debut">slow start to the preseason, Deandre Ayton</a> showed that he is the answer for the Lakers up front following their 126-116 win against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.</p><p>The Lakers came into the offseason with little to no money to spend in free agency, and limited assets in terms of a potential trade. But when Dorian Finney-Smith opted to sign with the Houston Rockets, the Lakers suddenly found themselves armed with a couple of free agent exceptions to improve the roster. When Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-contract-free-agency-after-blazers-buyout">agreed to a contract buyout, the Lakers had their man</a>.</p><p>Deandre Ayton <a href="https://x.com/LakersLead/status/1977568755333873837" rel="noopener">shone bright during</a> the Lakers preseason win against the Warriors, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 26 minutes. He shot 6- of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. After the game, Rui Hachimura explained the impact that Ayton can have on the Lakers’ offense.</p><p>“It’s been like that with Luka [Doncic] and LeBron [James], but he gets a lot of attention too on the offensive side. For him to be on the floor, it’s good for us, especially for me, Vando [Jarred Vanderbilt], Jake [LaRavia], all those guys. We can get those easy looks,” Hachimura said. “Those are the things he can do too in the post. I think for him, he still has to adjust a little bit with our system, but I think it was a good day for all of us to see what he can do.”</p><p>Throughout Ayton’s seven-year NBA career thus far, he has always been a borderline All-Star in terms of numbers. This past season, he appeared in 40 games for the Blazers at a little over 30 minutes per game. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 56.6 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Ayton’s best years offensively came with the Phoenix Suns when he was playing with a dynamic playmaker in Chris Paul. Now, he will play alongside three strong playmakers in Doncic, James and Austin Reaves. While Doncic and James did not play during Sunday’s game, Ayton showed flashes of potential chemistry with Reaves as a finisher.</p><p>Lakers head coach JJ Redick was pleased with what he saw from Ayton against the Warriors, and remarked how the team could do a better job of finding him for scoring opportunities.</p><p>“He was really good in the pocket, and I think that’s similar to some other bigs. Him in the pocket is a really good thing, and we’ve got to find him,” Redick said. “There were opportunities where we didn’t find him, sometimes on the rolls, sometimes on the pocket. But he was great. I thought too, just his poise and his patience as a like a hub, whether he was playing out of horns or playing that second side, you just got some really good stuff when he got the ball at the elbow.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense

<!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-should-la-fans-be-concerned-deandre-aytons-relationship-luka-lebron');   ga('set', 'title', 'Should Lakers fans be concerned over Deandre Ayton’s relationship with Luka, LeBron?');   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>Should Lakers fans be concerned over Deandre Ayton’s relationship with Luka, LeBron?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-09T08:32:11-07:00">October 9th, 8:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-09T08:32:11-07:00">October 9th, 8:32am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Over the last few days, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/jj-redick-blasts-lakers-dogs-defense">Los Angeles Lakers have been participating</a> in training camp and practicing in preparation for the upcoming 2025-26 season. The only problem<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-la-fan-lebron-james-second-decision-hennessy-ad"> is that LeBron James</a> and Luka Doncic have not been practicing alongside the rest of the team for vague injury reasons that evidently restrict them from being around their teammates.</p><p>Recently, Lakers buyout market addition, center Deandre Ayton, <a href="https://x.com/LawMurrayTheNU/status/1976032851868221533" rel="noopener">confirmed this during</a> an interview after practice.</p><p>“Asked Deandre Ayton what he can get out of playing without Luka Doncic and LeBron James at this stage of the preseason,” reported Law Murray of the Athletic on X, formerly Twitter. “Ayton mentioned he hasn’t been able to work with Luka or Bron yet. And it might be a couple weeks until that does happen.”</p><p>Needless to say, the good folks on X, formerly Twitter, are puzzled by the Lakers’ anti- team building strategy.</p><p>“Lakers gonna be a clown show this season,” predicted one fan.</p><p>“Nice leadership from Lebron and Luka,” added another.</p><p>“This is really crazy! 13 days to season tip off and our two best players haven’t had any reps with our new center,” pointed out one user.</p><h2><b>A concerning development for the Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lakers-All-Star-LeBron-James_0e121d.jpg"><figcaption>Denis Poroy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The entire purpose of training camp and the preseason is to get NBA players acclimated with their new teammates so that they can hit the ground running once the regular season begins, and the fact that the Lakers are not doing that is certainly not great news for fans hoping for an improvement off last year’s team.</p><p>Los Angeles is entering the first full year of the Doncic era and another season of the James era after his recent hint at a retirement announcement predictably turned out to be nothing more than a Hennessy ad.</p><p>Still, with JJ Redick evidently unable to get his team together on the practice court, the Lakers may have to figure things out on the fly once the season tips off, which could be a recipe for disaster in the current Western Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Should Lakers fans be concerned over Deandre Ayton’s relationship with Luka, LeBron?

<!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-speaks-out-after-tough-los-angeles-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Deandre Ayton speaks out after tough 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/2025/09/IMG_0197.jpeg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Deandre Ayton speaks out after tough Lakers debut</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-04T09:00:39-07:00">October 4th, 9:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-04T09:00:39-07:00">October 4th, 9:00am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton’s debut with his new team didn’t go as planned, as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-bronny-james-explains-shooting-1-12-from-field-vs-suns">Lakers fell 103-81 to the Phoenix Suns in their preseason opener</a> Friday night.</p><p>Ayton, facing his former team, struggled offensively in limited minutes. The 27-year-old finished with one point, eight rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal across 18 minutes. He missed both of his field-goal attempts and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line while committing four turnovers.</p><p>After the game, Ayton spoke with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin about his <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1974355496745512971" rel="noopener">performance and his focus</a> for the upcoming season.</p><p>“Yeah, I wanted to show the team I’m more committed on the defensive end than the offensive end,” Ayton said. “Like, I said from the get go – I’m not really here for numbers and just here for whatever the Lakers really want me to do. And the main objective is really protecting that rim and closing out possessions. I had fun man, just blocked some shots today. Just being that anchor, seeing how guys are responding to me, you know, just terminology and stuff like that. Just get out and be in the offense and create from our defense, so it was fun.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I’m not here for numbers. I’m just here for whatever the Lakers really want me to do”</p><p>Deandre Ayton postgame after his Laker preseason debut 👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcten</a>)<br><a href="https://t.co/Js2xK4m6go">pic.twitter.com/Js2xK4m6go</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1974355496745512971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Deandre Ayton aims to anchor Lakers’ defense after quiet debut against Suns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton-5-during-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/grading-deandre-ayton-lakers-contract">Ayton joined the Lakers earlier this summer</a> after finalizing a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers. He appeared in 40 games with Portland during the 2024-25 season, averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and one block per game while shooting 56.6 percent from the field.</p><p>The former No. 1 overall pick is expected to provide the Lakers with interior defense, rebounding, and rim protection — areas the team has sought to strengthen heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Despite the quiet debut, Ayton’s defensive energy and effort were viewed as positive takeaways by the coaching staff.</p><p>Friday’s matchup marked a reunion for Ayton and the Suns, the franchise that drafted him first overall in 2018 and where he spent the first five seasons of his career before being traded to Portland in 2023.</p><p>The Lakers will continue preseason play on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Los Angeles opens the regular season on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Deandre Ayton speaks out after tough Lakers debut

<!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-fans-will-love-deandre-aytons-decision-in-first-la-media-day');   ga('set', 'title', 'Fans will love Deandre Ayton’s decision in first Lakers Media Day');   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/2025/09/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton-5-during-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Fans will love Deandre Ayton’s decision in first Lakers Media Day</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-29T21:23:15-07:00">September 29th, 9:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-29T21:23:15-07:00">September 29th, 9:23pm</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>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-six-word-message-los-angeles">Los Angeles Lakers addressed their most urgent need</a> heading into the offseason when they pounced on the surprise availability of Deandre Ayton on the free-agent market after the Portland Trail Blazers decided to buy him out of his contract. Considering how limited the Lakers’ resources were, upgrading their frontcourt with the addition of Ayton, a constant double-double threat since he entered the NBA in 2018, at such a low cost (two-year, $16 million contract) cannot be viewed as anything other than a huge win.</p><p>Ayton, however, comes with his fair share of baggage. Rumor has it that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-wounded-animal-2025-26-season">new Lakers starting center has punctuality issues</a>, and his work ethic has been called into question many times. Moreover, he doesn’t have the best motor out on the court, and his effort issues have led to benchings throughout his career.</p><p>But now that he’s gotten a fresh start with the Lakers, it seems like Ayton is turning over a new leaf as well. He better do, especially if he’s <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersNation/status/1972794265253376443" rel="noopener">going to rock</a> the late great Kobe Bryant’s sneakers like he did during Media Day.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Deandre Ayton knew what shoes to wear for his first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LakersMediaDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LakersMediaDay</a>. 🐍</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonPrime?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonPrime</a>) <a href="https://t.co/JGVnQzNGng">pic.twitter.com/JGVnQzNGng</a></p><p>— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersNation/status/1972794265253376443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Bryant is the pure embodiment of the famous “Mamba Mentality”. He pushed the boundaries of what is capable with his legendary work ethic, and he worked tirelessly to become the best version of himself — resulting in five championships with the Lakers.</p><p>Ayton’s biggest issue is work ethic and effort, and one would think that these problems of his will not sit well with Bryant. The new Lakers starting center is also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-in-disbelief-teaming-luka-doncic">entering a win-now situation</a> alongside serial winner LeBron James and top-five current player Luka Doncic, so he has to be his best self all season long if the Purple and Gold were to somehow compete for a title.</p><h2><b>Can Deandre Ayton be the missing piece for the Lakers?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_0197.jpeg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>No Lakers fan would ever forget soon how their decimated frontcourt got taken to the woodshed by Rudy Gobert during the 2025 NBA playoffs. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-news-rudy-gobert-joins-shaq-wilt-nba-legends-domination-lakers">Gobert dominated the interior battle</a>, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves take the series decisively in a five-game battle.</p><p>Ayton, at the very least, has averaged at least 10 rebounds per game in every season of his career. He’s going to help solve the Lakers’ rebounding woes, and he provides offensive versatility from the center position seeing as he can shoot from midrange.</p><p>With gifted playmakers such as Doncic and James around to feed him, Ayton is going to feast — as long as he keeps his head down and does what is asked of him without complaints.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Fans will love Deandre Ayton’s decision in first Lakers Media Day

<!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-wounded-animal-2025-26-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Deandre Ayton feels like a ‘wounded animal’ ahead of 2025-26 season');   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/2025/09/IMG_0197.jpeg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Deandre Ayton feels like a ‘wounded animal’ ahead of 2025-26 season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-29T18:42:43-07:00">September 29th, 6:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-29T18:42:43-07:00">September 29th, 6:42pm</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 – Coming into the offseason, one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ most obvious needs was a starting center. While Jaxson Hayes filled in admirably following the Anthony Davis trade, the playoffs showed he is more suited to being a reserve center. With little to no trade assets to acquire what they needed, the Lakers potentially struck gold in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-contract-free-agency-after-blazers-buyout">free agency with the signing of Deandre Ayton</a>.</p><p>Deandre Ayton is expected to slot in as the Lakers starting center this season, and his critics around the NBA world have speculated that this is potentially his last chance in the NBA. During his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, the team <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-why-blazers-failed-find-deandre-ayton-trade-buyout">reportedly took issue with some of Ayton’s behavior</a>. Now with the Lakers, Ayton <a href="https://x.com/LALMuse/status/1972736746652925990" rel="noopener">is well aware</a> of the perception of him and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-critics-statement-free-agency-lebron">he’s heard his doubters</a> suggesting that this is final chance in the NBA.</p><p>“This is the biggest opportunity I can say, in my career. Some people say it’s my last leg, some people say it’s my last chance. This is an opportunity I can say I’m truly not going to take for granted,” Ayton said during Media Day. “It’s almost like a wounded animal. I feel all the tension and I know where I’m at.”</p><p>“I’ve been in the gym every day. Like I say, I’m somewhere where it counts now,” Ayton continued. “And I’m happy that everybody gets to see it. I’m happy where as a player, as myself, I get a chance to prove something big on a big stage.”</p><p>The last time that Ayton was on a team that had major playoff aspirations was with the Phoenix Suns a few years ago. In 2020-21, the Suns made a remarkable run to the NBA Finals with Ayton playing a key role as the starting center. Although the former No. 1 overall pick has never been an All-Star, his numbers during his final years with the Suns were All-Star caliber.</p><p>Even last season with the Blazers, Ayton still produced consistently albeit only appearing in 40 games. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in a little over 30 minutes per game. He shot 56.6 percent from the field.</p><p>This season, Ayton will be alongside a major pick-and-roll playmaking threat in Luka Doncic. He thrived the last time he had such a teammate in Chris Paul back with the Suns.</p><p>“I’ve proven myself that I dominate best with playmakers. I’m here once again. I’m much older now, the game is much easier to me,” Ayton said. “Just playing alongside Luka is going to make a lot of things easier. It’s the true nature of the game, and really just to emphasize that even more.”</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 news

Deandre
Ayton news