Phoenix Suns: 5 takeaways from Week 1 of 2018-19 season

4. Deandre Ayton flawed, but very productive

No surprises here, but through the first four games of his NBA career, Deandre Ayton is pretty close to who everyone thought he was as a draft prospect: Incredibly productive, but flawed defensively.

Through the first week of the Suns’ season, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft is averaging an impressive 16.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, shooting 62.8 percent from the floor.

"“I’ve been watching all summer, I knew he was something special,” Devin Booker said. “When you’re that talented and have the abilities that he does, the game is just going to come to you. He doesn’t force it. He just lets it happen. It’s a quiet game that he does, but it’s unbelievable.”"

Ayton has converted 84.6 percent of his free throws, is a guaranteed bucket around the rim when defenses hone in on driving ball-handlers and he’s got great touch from the mid-range. Shockingly, on a team that’s lost three of its four games by a combined 66 points, he’s still somehow a +4 on the season.

However, the concern with Ayton was never whether he’d produce; the worry rested on the defensive end, where he’s displayed both flashes of on-ball brilliance and the same kind of head-scratching, off-ball ineptitude we saw at Arizona in college.

The Suns’ Net Rating with Ayton is a +2.0, and it drops to a precipitous (small sample size alert!) -30.4 when he takes a seat. However, despite that stark contrast, Phoenix’s defense is still 1.2 points per 100 possessions better when he’s not on the court.

That’s not a huge deal in and of itself, but the only fears about Ayton’s defense that have been quelled thus are his ability to switch onto ball-handlers on the perimeter.

He has the footwork to stay with quicker and smaller players off the dribble, and has displayed it multiple times throughout the preseason and the regular season — like Wednesday, when he defended LeBron James admirably on the perimeter until the King settled for a missed step-back 3.

However, it’s the weak-side rim protection and interior defense where Ayton has failed to put lingering doubts to rest.

"“His motor was there, his excitement and energy,” Kokoskov said after the season opener. “He’s not afraid to sacrifice his body and as we know, those days when you take the charges are over. He’s pretty impressive when it comes to size and length, and he can do even better. Tomorrow he will watch the film and see how many times he missed the guys — when he had an opportunity to block and protect the rim, and he didn’t. That’s his challenge.”"

Kokoskov’s words turned out to be foreshadowing, as there have been numerous plays over the last four games where the seven-footer was expected to slide over and challenge a shot at the basket, but simply didn’t. You can almost see the gears turning in his head as he processes the developing play just a few seconds too slow to do anything about it.

Part of that is fatigue, since this is his first time playing these kinds of minutes (30.3 per game) against NBA-caliber athletes over an 82-game grind. Part of it has been foul trouble, since he’s had to rein himself in on a couple of occasions to avoid risking another cheap whistle.

"“I’ve got to do a good job of staying out of foul trouble,” Ayton said. “And there’s new rules as well. I’m still trying to learn.”"

The defensive end isn’t the only area for improvement. Ayton’s high assist numbers have been impressive, especially lately, when they’ve advanced from simple dribble handoff assists to reading double-teams and passing out of the paint to open shooters. But like the defensive end, he takes his sweet time processing things when he catches the ball down in the post.

On some occasions, like when the defenses send over a double-team, that’s beneficial, allowing him to make the correct read on where his next pass should go. On others, like when he’s been matched up with smaller defenders or even like-sized defenders after establishing good position, he’s waited too long to make a move, ultimately settling for a less efficient hook shot or mid-range jumper after squaring up.

One such instance came against the Warriors, when observers were dismayed to see him pass out of the paint with Klay Thompson holding his ground inside. Thompson is a strong and versatile defender, and with time, Ayton will be strong and experienced enough to punish those mismatches.

He was never known for backing opponents down and imposing his will in college. He’s more of a finesse player, but at age 20, he doesn’t have to be a banger down low to be able to attack when he catches the ball on the block. Without being able to go strong to the basket and the threat of some kind of pull-through or post move, defenders will learn to simply play the jump shot or the pass rather than send over double-teams.

Again, a lot of this is nitpicking a guy who’s been one of the Suns’ lone bright spots thus far, but the concerns about Deandre Ayton’s defensive awareness are still very much warranted. Despite his immense raw production, there’s room for improvement on both ends. Considering what he’s already doing without being fully dominant yet, that’s actually a good thing.