3 goals for the Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton for the 2023-24 season
By Luke Duffy
2. Have the best defensive rating of his career
It goes without saying, but the Suns need Ayton to be as good as he ever has on the defensive end this coming season. This is another reason Vogel was brought in, as a coach who has worked wonders with bigs such as Roy Hibbert in the past.
Booker is at this point an underrated defender, while Beal is only so-so when at the top of his game on that end. Durant can certainly be elite, and the hope is he will make a difference defensively once the postseason begins. What the Suns do not want however, is Durant banging away for 30 minutes a night during the regular season.
The best rating Ayton has ever had defensively was during the 2021-22 season, when it was 107.7. Last season, it was a more worrying 113.2. Not a terrible number, but certainly not good enough when you consider the likes of Bridges and even Torrey Craig are no longer on this roster to help.
The Suns did go out this summer and get defensive-minded players like Keita Bates-Diop and Eric Gordon to shore things up. Yuta Watanabe is a nice big body to have, while Drew Eubanks is going to put himself about, even if this team will miss Jock Landale’s presence. Whatever number Ayton posts in this area, is going to have an outsized impact on how the team are performing.