Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton came up big to close out the first-round series against the Houston Rockets, and now he knows the team will need more of the same from him if they want to have a chance against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Doing the exact same thing, but really staying poised,” Ayton said of his focus. “We have to really be patient with this team. They’re super consistent and efficient. But just really doing the same thing I did in the last series, but mainly focusing on Game 6 and how we played. We really had a stop sign and I think the physicality and how we determined the game was really from the jump ball. I think that’s how it’s gonna be every game, just having that Game 6 mentality with how we played Houston and closing out that series.”
Ayton struggled against the Thunder during the regular season as in four games, he averaged 24.3 minutes and just 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. In order for the Lakers to compete, they will need more production than that from the big man. He knows he will need to make plays on both sides of the ball this series.
“Playing bigger. Just being relentless on the glass, protecting the rim as much as possible, letting them out of my paint,” Ayton said. “It’s gonna be big for me protecting that paint this series where they really generate (offense) touching the paint, having 50-plus points in the paint. They’re a really unstoppable team so I’m just looking forward to protecting the paint as best as I can and staying on the floor as long as possible. That’s about it.”
The Lakers know they are massive underdogs against the defending champs and it will take a group effort to compete. Ayton has been their X-factor all year long though, and that isn’t gonna change now.
Deandre Ayton expecting loud crowd in Oklahoma City
The Lakers are hitting the road for Games 1 and 2 against the Thunder and Ayton is expecting a hostile environment at Paycom Center.
“You can’t hear yourself,” he said of their arena. “It’s definitely the Thunder for a reason. Their fans are thunderous. You can hear the floor shaking, the bleachers, you can’t even hear a play call. And you gotta be super dialed in.”
If the Lakers are able to steal one of the first two games on the road, that will help give them the confidence they need to compete with the Thunder.
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