Phoenix Suns Big Deandre Ayton Must Work on his Outside Shooting
Ayton does carry a midrange shot on his utility belt already. During his rookie year, Ayton shot 41 percent on attempts between 10 and 16 feet away from the basket. Most of these midrange shots were catch and shoots, with 80 percent of those baskets being assisted.
No matter how you cut it, 41 percent is not a number efficient enough to draw a defender out. Think Paul, Booker, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, either Curry brother, Brandon Ingram—those are all guys that either shoot a little above 50 percent on six or more attempts per night or well above 50 percent on three or four attempts per game.
Ayton in his first year fell well below that mark of 50 percent shooting, but in this past season, he shot 53 percent on 2.5 attempts per game. I must admit that the touch has gotten softer and more accurate, but the confidence hasn’t improved much in my opinion, hence why Ayton did not seek out more scoring opportunities this past season.
I bring up Ayton’s outside shooting first not to belittle how important his inside scoring is because Ayton is always going to be a much better scorer from the paint than anywhere else. His touch around the rim being so soft combined with his physical skills make him a matchup nightmare. But that does not change the fact that Ayton being a better shooter from even just the midrange would diversify an offense that desperately needs more go-to options.
A big reason as to why the Dallas Mavericks overcame the Suns was how predictable Phoenix’s offense became especially with an injured Chris Paul. But by adding another go-to option into the mix, the Suns lighten the load for Booker and Paul, and become far more dangerous.