"I can't do anything without him" - Chris Paul highlights Deandre Ayton's importance in Phoenix Suns' pick-and-roll gameplay

The Phoenix Suns have been in disarray ever since Deandre Ayton's contract was not extended. They are 2-3 to begin the season and their defense has taken a gigantic dip. The Suns got blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers and lost close games to the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.

Deandre Ayton played the first four games and everything seemed normal, but he left the last matchup mid-third quarter and the offensive lapse was evident. The Phoenix Suns ran their usual pick-and-roll offense a bunch of times in their last game. When Ayton left with a right leg contusion, that strategy fell apart. Chris Paul spoke about Deandre Ayton's importance to the team's offense, especially pick-and-roll, after the game, saying,

"I think we both understand, and especially me, I definitely understand that I can’t do anything without him"

The Phoenix Suns ran the majority of their pick-and-roll offense through Deandre Ayton. ESPN's Zach Lowe published a study of the Suns' offense during the 2021 NBA playoffs, titled 'How Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns are flummoxing the NBA with the league's most complex pick-and-roll'. The initiator or ball-handler is either Chris Paul or Devin Booker, but Deandre Ayton's role is unquestionable.

Deandre Ayton's not getting extended has led to tension in the locker room. Chris Paul spoke on international television during the playoffs and said that the Phoenix Suns are going to get Ayton "a bag." However, ownership refused to do so.

Expand Tweet

Analysts believe the Phoenix Suns defense is falling apart due to a lack of trust in Deandre Ayton

Coach Monty Williams certainly deserves blame for the current chaotic situation the Phoenix Suns are in. After knowing that the only way to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo was to build a "Giannis Wall", he still refused to implement that strategy in the 2021 NBA Finals. Instead, he left 23-year-old Deandre Ayton on an island alone to guard the two-time MVP. Naturally, Ayton got bullied by Antetokounmpo and that is one of the major reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship.

Now that has led to the Phoenix Suns ownership believing that Deandre Ayton is not worth a maximum contract extension. It seems as though they ignored his mind-boggling near 70% efficiency in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Fast forward to the 2021-22 NBA season and through the first five games, the Phoenix Suns have been horrid defensively.

They are giving up a high-volume three-pointer to the opposition because the Suns' players collapsed in the paint to help Ayton, subsequently leaving some shooter open on the perimeter.

Expand Tweet

The Phoenix Suns were ninth in defensive rating last season. They are 20th in the league in defensive rating now and 30th in three-pointers allowed. According to NBA Advanced Stats, 45.6% of their opposing three-point attempts per game are designated as 'wide open', i.e. when the defender is 6+ feet away from the shooter. The opposition is shooting 46.4% on those attempts.

Now consider the 38.3% of opposing three-point attempts that are considered 'open', when the defender is 4-6 feet away from the shooter, being shot at a 44.7% clip.

That equals 83.9% of all three-point attempts by Phoenix Suns' opponents to be either open or wide open. And those attempts are being shot at over a 40% clip. According to John Voita of the Bright Side of the Sun, the team is not defending the perimeter well because of lack of trust in Deandre Ayton in the paint.

It is quite evident that Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns need Deandre Ayton to succeed. The locker room is in disarray and needs to improve over time or the Phoenix Suns won't be able to repeat their NBA Finals trip this year.

Also Read: Who is Chris Paul’s wife, Jada Crawley?