"I'm very proud to be part of the 2018 Draft, we're the strongest ever."
Recently, the 2018 winner Ayton was interviewed by the New York Times, and when it came to whether there was extra motivation for doncic in the playoffs, he expressed strong self-confidence and courage.
However, in the fourth game of the second round of the Western Conference Semifinals and the Lone Ranger, the Sun failed to attack the Dallas American Airlines Center, as the team's main center Ayton played in this game is still average, he scored 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 4 mistakes in 7 of 12, although the shooting efficiency is acceptable, but the tactical status is visible to the naked eye, and the offensive scenes are pitiful.
Counting this game, Ayton's playoff average is 18.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, not even two double-doubles, in fact, his efficiency is the highest in the team, the three main shooting rates are as high as 64.6% + 50% + 73.9%, once regarded as the third person after embiid and Jokic's two super interior lines, is the Sun's indispensable needle of the sea god.
During The first round of Booker's absence in the playoffs, the combination of Ayton and Paul played a powerful game beyond expectations, especially in the third game, Ayton can be described as a god in the box, a total of 20 shots and 13 slashes of 28 points, 17 rebounds and 3 steals, which are the personal highest in this year's playoffs, in addition to no obvious shortcomings in offensive means, but also provide top-level restricted area protection capabilities.
But since Booker's comeback, the Suns' tactical core has gradually tilted from the internal and external balance to the outside, and the original Monty Williams coach did not design too many core tactics specifically for Ayton, they still let Booker use singles to solve the problem, and in the absence of a good interior line for the Lone Ranger, they did not play to their advantages at all.
In the middle of the second quarter, the Suns were already nearly double digits behind the Lone Ranger, at this time Booker arced the ball, Ayton was next to him, they should do a blocking combination, and then let Ayton finish the attack, but Booker did not think about it and killed the inside, and the defenders in front of him were Kleber and Finney Smith, and Booker saw that he was back in the outside line.
So the opportunity to belong to the inside line came again, because Kléber had been pulled out, Ayton could completely eat Finney Smith raw in the exclusion zone, but Booker decided not to do so, he believed more in his ability to play small and big, one step into the inside line basket, the whole process, Ayton played the role of "human shield", opening the way for Booker's personal singles.
As a top outside scorer, Booker does have a stronger ultimate ability, he scored 35 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, but it was built on 22 shots and 13 free throws, in addition to 5 turnovers, his outside partner Paul is even more sluggish, only 5 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists on 6 games, there is no room for play.
It is not difficult to understand that in the playoffs, such as bayonet fighting, relying on hand-to-hand combat stage, it is a very happy thing to have a good big man, the sun has a 2.16-meter inside beast without designing any tactics for it is really a tyrannical thing, Paul and Booker, who are not fully functional outside players, can not become a continuous dependence, which is already a historically verified conclusion.
After being pulled twice in a row, the Suns and Paul have now been forced to the edge of the cliff, this time they can no longer hope that Paul will come up with a miracle performance of 14 of 14 in a single game, and it is difficult to make Booker go further in scoring, the only thing that can be done is to transfer the tactical core to Ayton, with the penalty area and blocking tactics as the basic set, otherwise the league's first record will soon become a joke.