It was by falling on the foot of Jonas Valanciunas after a shoot that Deandre Ayton twisted his left ankle. It was in the first quarter of the match against the Pelicans, and the medical staff announced that he would be out for at least a week. Which means he should miss four games: the Rockets and Wolves receptions; the back-to-back in Portland.
In his absence, it is Bismack Biyombo who should start at position 5, with Jock Landale as understudy. The two always respond when Monty Williams calls on them, and they proved it against the Pelicans with a double-double for Biyombo and 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block for the Australian.
“They just play aggressively” likes the Suns coach. “Sometimes when we talk about aggression, we only think of shooting, but I find the screen pose is at a high level with Jock and Bis”.
The two get along well, and there isn’t much competition between the two. It is depending on the opponent that Williams chooses to play one more than the other. “Bisy was in good shape, and it was smart of the coaches to put him back into play” explained Londale after the game against the Pelicans. “I was in trouble in the first half, and I recovered in the second. Bisy was doing a very good job in defense on Valanciunas. He imposes, and when we put someone stronger like Bisy on him, I think it helps us in defense. »
For Biyombo, it is important that his coach can count on an effective “second unit”. “We cannot constantly rely on the starting five because in the end, we need a “second unit” to reach a certain level necessary to win the title” recalls the former pivot of the Raptors and the Magic. “I think that’s one of the points the coach insists on. It’s how to get the ‘second unit’ to play fast and understand the systems, and what needs to be in place to allow us to play even faster. »
| Deandre Ayton | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | PHX | 71 | 31 | 58.5 | 0.0 | 74.6 | 3.1 | 7.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 16.3 |
| 2019-20 | PHX | 38 | 33 | 54.6 | 23.1 | 75.3 | 3.9 | 7.6 | 11.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 18.2 |
| 2020-21 | PHX | 69 | 31 | 62.6 | 20.0 | 76.9 | 3.3 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 14.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHX | 58 | 30 | 63.4 | 36.8 | 74.6 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 17.2 |
| 2022-23 | PHX | 5 | 26 | 54.8 | 33.3 | 72.7 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 8.2 | 2.0 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 15.4 |
| Total | 241 | 31 | 59.8 | 25.4 | 75.3 | 3.1 | 7.3 | 10.5 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 16.3 | |
