Deandre Ayton on the mentality he brought to Lakers vs. Rockets series
Deandre Ayton played excellent, inspiring basketball to help the Lakers knock the Rockets out of the NBA playoffs.
When the Los Angeles Lakers began their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets , many felt that Deandre Ayton would be the biggest key to their chances of winning. Almost no one picked the Lakers to win the series, and there was probably plenty of doubt that Ayton would hold his own against Alperen Sengun, the Rockets' two-time All-Star center. Ayton averaged 11.
8 points per game over the six games, which may seem disappointing. But in reality, he played very well overall, and he especially did so in the two big areas L. A.
needed him to shine in: defense and rebounding. He pounded the boards to the tune of 10. 8 rebounds a game, including 16 rebounds in the Game 6 clincher .
He also played excellent positional defense on Sengun. Ayton didn't let Sengun back him deep into the paint, and he also did a great job of contesting Sengun's shots. Sengun got his usual numbers, but he didn't seem to make the type of impact one would expect.