Phoenix Suns: Player grades from win over the Miami Heat

Deandre Ayton
Grade: B

Did you see it? Deandre Ayton dunked in his game! And kind of hard. It was a welcome change to the delicate ways he often places the basketball in the basket.

DA is a walking double-double, and the Miami Heat game was no exception. He finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but what stuck out was his inside play. The Heat didn’t have anyone who could match up with Ayton’s size and the Suns made a conscious effort to get him the ball early in the paint.

It kind of worked.

Ayton still put up his fair share of middies, but by making more moves around the rim he was able to score over smaller Heat players, and moreover, it led to five, yes five, free throw attempts.

For those of you who might not think five free throw attempts is a lot, consider it is more than he had in the other four bubble games combined.

Like most games, I still left this game wanting more out of Ayton. He is just too talented and too gifted to not be a dominant force every minute he is in the game. The flashes are there, but Suns fans keep waiting on those flashes to turn into the norm.