No debate: Deandre Ayton should start at center when he returns for the Phoenix Suns
By Adam Maynes
Trust the…Process?
One has to also trust that Monty Wiliams knew what he was doing and had a plan in place by starting Ayton in the first place and bringing Baynes off the bench.
He saw in practice and throughout the abbreviated preseason that that order was going to be the most effective for his team, and implemented it rightly when the season began.
Granted Baynes’ play has been much better than even Coach could have anticipated, however that does not mean that his position in the starting lineup is anymore solidified simply because of these last six games.
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Moving Aron Baynes back to his traditional reserve role will only heighten the team’s ability to maintain a full-court offensive press on their opponents.
His energy and 3-point shooting suits the bench unit very well as it spreads those skills out from the starting lineup.
Unfortunately, at the moment, the bench-unit cannot find their shot nearly as effectively as the starters can, and having Baynes on the court with the reserves should hopefully allow the ball to fly a little bit more effectively.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, for instance, the starters shot a combined 11-19 from 3, whereas the reserves finished 0-9.
Dario Daric too has not had quite the start to the season everyone was hoping for (he shot 38/1% from beyond the arc the last two seasons combined, but at the moment is shooting a low 33.3%).
He will benefit from continuing to play with Ricky Rubio in the starting lineup as Rubio will be best able to find the stretch-four when open, whereas should Saric move to the bench, he may find himself entirely lost and forgotten totally ruining his ability to re-find his stroke slowing his season down considerably.
This has happened with far too many players in the past few years and must not occur again.