Lakers star Deandre Ayton’s lightbulb moment after Clint Capela fiasco

Deandre Ayton has had a mixed start to life at the Los Angeles Lakers, and much of that is down to his new role on the team. Used to being the focal point on offense, it is no secret that Ayton has had his struggles being the defensive lynchpin on an offensively stacked roster.

That even led to a feud with Houston Rockets star Clint Capela, with Ayton claiming after one game that the Lakers were trying to make him play like the former Atlanta Hawks man. However, things have seemingly changed of late, with the 27-year-old recently telling The Athletic that he has taken a part of his game out.

“That’s a fact. That is a true fact. But me, I scratched that, I took that out. I said … when it comes to scoring, we don’t need that. We need you to put that energy what you have for offense and into defense,” he said.

That is something Lakers fans have been saying right from the start. However, it seemingly took a ‘mirror session’ for Ayton to bring that to his game.

“I just started looking in the mirror and said ‘Yo bro, … you’re not that guy. You don’t need to be on this team doing that at all. This team, you came here to be the effort guy and close out possessions, rebound. Run the damn floor hard as hell, make bigs work, make superstars work,” he revealed.

And well, while it came late, the 2018 draft’s No. 1 pick claimed that he is finally “having fun with it,” which appears to be the way to go as well. The Lakers are one of the most offensively gifted sides in recent NBA history, boasting the likes of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as their Big-3, with all three finding form of late.

That means Ayton’s job on the team remains to mop up on defense and ensure that his team is not vulnerable on the inside. That undoubtedly represents a major difference in what a successful game for Ayton might look like.

“I’m telling you, once I sit that long, that’s usually it. It’s like … ‘You out (of the game) for a reason — go think about it. But lately it’s been like, ‘Nah, DA. You good.’” he said

Ayton went on to state that he has ‘completely, 110% bought in,” claiming that he was hoping fans could also see the work he has been putting in. That has also coincided with the Lakers’ stellar run of late, with Ayton finishing with a positive plus/minus in each of his last five games.

The post Lakers star Deandre Ayton’s lightbulb moment after Clint Capela fiasco appeared first on ClutchPoints.