These NBA Players SHRINK In The Spotlight… 

Ayton is one of the most frustrating players to watch in all of the NBA. He is so naturally gifted, yet cares so little. I remember all season long the talking heads kept saying the Suns "needed to get Ayton more involved"... Trust me, CP3, Booker, Monty, everyone has tried, Ayton just doesn't care. He just floats up and down the court, never attacks the rim, doesn't put forth effort on defense, and receives tens of millions of dollars to do so. I hope Ishbia can move him this summer to some sucker of a team who hasn't been paying attention.

I went to school at University at Buffalo. During the NCAA tournament, Buffalo played against Ayton's Arizona. One of my friends was friends with a player on UB's team called CJ Massinburg. CJ would eventually play in the Gleague. As such, I remember meeting CJ several times and thought that he was a bit small. I mean, he's 6ft3, but he isn't THAT big. So when it came to March Madness, and UB faced off against Ayton, I was interested in seeing just how big these guys were. Seeing CJ attack the rim and score on a 7ft Ayton made me think "how tf is this guy going top 3 in the draft? He's soft af." UB would eventually upset them and advance. Years later, Ayton is still playing the same way. Still playing small.

I'll take Randle's recklessness over Ayton's lack of effort

I know Randle is a pretty big problem, but the Knicks as a whole have been tough to watch this series

I didn't know you get called "Dominayton" when you play worse than your backup.

That's gotta be suck to see both Ayton and Randle shrink in the Playoffs this year. I wish they can turn things around.

Since 2000, the NBA MVP has averaged 1.2 MORE PPG in the postseason. The largest playoff drop of any 2000s MVP prior to this year was -5 PPG. Joel Embiid's drop this year? 33.1 PPG -> 18.8 PPG (-14.3 PPG) as of May 3rd. That PPG drop is larger than the drop of all MVPs since 2000 COMBINED. And it's not only this year. All the times Embiid performed below expectations in the Playoffs: -2018: regular season - 22.9PPG, 48%FG to Round 1 - 18.7PPG, 42%FG. Round 2 - 23PPG, 44%FG -2019: regular season - 27.5PPG, 48%FG to Round 2 - 17.6PPG (-9.9PPG), 37%FG -2020 to 2022 Round 1: swept 1st rd & 2nd rd exits -2022: regular season - 30.6PPG, 50%FG to Round 2 - 19.8PPG (-10.8PPG), 43%FG. -2023: regular season - 33.1PPG, 55%FG to Round 1 & 2 combined - 18.8PPG (-14.3PPG), 46%FG.

This has been one of the most unorthodox/unique playoffs I have ever witnessed

Don't forget about Jordan "Poodle" Poole. 114M for lots of bad shots, turnovers, and poor decision making.

As a Suns fan it is just painful. Deandre Ayton has been holding the team hostage for years now. His regular season performance has made the suns very hesitant to trade him, especially if he stays in the same conference. However, his playoff performances make him never worth what we are paying him. That combined with Chris Paul getting old, and Devin Booker being a wannabe Kobe, had caused a lot of issues for the team. I’m just glad Booker isn’t getting any Kobe comparisons anymore, it was ridiculous.

The most frustrating part about Ayton is that every once in a blue moon he'll have a game, even a couple in a row, where he appears to be actually trying, and puts up huge rebound and defensive numbers, in addition to whatever points he provides on the offense. If he never did that, I think the Suns would have given up on him a long time ago. But instead he gives the Suns just enough sneak peeks of the kind of player he'd be if he was gave the league average in "energy" rather then the league minimum, that they continue to cling to hope this will be the year he at least brings it in the play offs even if he never stops sleep walking through the regular season. But at this point its clear that just isn't going to happen, that isn't who he is. He doesn't love basketball, he doesn't care about winning, he isn't invested in the teams success. By all accounts he's a nice and supportive person, a solid human being, but basketball is just a job to him, a job he'd rather not be doing but does anyway for the money, and like a lot of people in jobs they don't love, he's content giving the bare minimum effort necessary to keep the pay checks rolling in.

Forgot about Jordan Poole

Oden's lil brother lol

Even without watching the video I know who we are talking about (Randle)

Deandre Ayton just doesn’t want to be there.

Been absolutely loving your videos as of late where you dissect individual players/teams regarding certain topics. Amazing content as per usual and long may it continue Andy 👏

If DeAndre Ayton has a motor, he can become like David Robinson's type player.

I still cant get over that nba playoffs commercial where Randle is saying he has that dog in him 😂😂😂

Always waiting for your new uploads andy. 🔥

It’s tough because why would the suns run plays through Ayton… just to relieve stress off of KD. Even when Ayton is open for a dunk he won’t slam it.

It's true about Ayton. He's a big guy, but he has the mind of someone who thinks he's tiny. If he had that extra gear to really want to dominate, he'd be a force to be seen.

8:55 "he is stepped to slow". This says A LOT about Ayton. Joker is not a Ferrari.

I know they have different roles, but I kinda find it ironic how out of all the “young core” Lakers players of the mid-2010s (DLo, Randle, Ingram, Lonzo, Kuzma), only DLo and Ingram seem like players who get it done in the playoffs.

As a Suns fan, I wish we had today's Charles Barkley. I bet he'd outplay Ayton. Straight out of the studio. Wearing a suit. And after racing Ken Smith (if you watch TNT, you'll know Randle's been so bad that Kenny lost his NY in his name) to the board. Smh.

If you’re New York , when Randle doesn’t have him going you have to put him in the corner and let Jalen work. You have to pay attention to RJ as well. Run some pick and roll with Robinson to open up the offense to get him some open shots to boost his confidence.

Love your work man

As a Suns fan Ayton is the most frustrating to watch. He puts so little effort on defense, he gets out rebounded by opposing players, and puts forth so little effort. Ayton is 7 feet tall with a physically imposing mentality but he just never uses it. It’s extremely frustrating.

Best and most unique NBA content on social media. You never make any mistakes (and being an NBA historian in his 30s I’m always checking to see). Keep it up, Andy. You’re a beast.

Randle reminds me of derozan back in the raptors, both are good in the regular season but folds in post season

as a dallas mavs fan who lives in phoenix arizona .. these 2 dudes getting ready to get out the 2nd round is nice to see

As for Randle, it’s not a slump, he’s just not able to get his bad shots off as well when someone is actually trying to guard him.

D'angelo Russel was one of those guys too. But Lebron and AD shown him the light and now he's balling out in the playoffs. KD and Booker need to do that for Ayton instead of just yelling at his face. That's not what leaders do.

Your statement of Ayton needing to elevate his game to play with half Landale's effort is 1000000% correct. Thank you for noticing this.

"The lights were brighter than expected" Jarrett Allen

The fact that jokic runs the floor better than ayton is all I need to see smh

Just wanted to mention for Ayton that in 2021 he held Jokic to 18 points per game on 39 present shooting and now he’s holding jokic 35 points per game on 57 percent shooting real difference right there

Still waiting for the videos about the pre-LeBron Cavs, the new CBA and the next step for the teams that got eliminated in the first round of the 2023 Playoffs.

Keep it up andy

As a Celtics fan, I will never forget when Ayton became a non-factor against us cause he just can't keep a body against Grant Williams. Lol

I think Randle imo he needs to accept being a role player and needs a good leader around him. He not the GUY and thats fine. Randle should be like Cleveland Love or Miami Bosh.

cant get enough of the Jock Landale love!

Randle gives more effort than Ayton to be fair. But Randle is a mess everytime he makes a move, either its a miss or turnover....Ayton on the other hand is like a tourist walking in the park with no sense of urgency both offense and defense.

5:51 Monty Williams: "I'm not talking to him. I'm talking to YOU"

Ayton is a traditional big man, a rim runner. A talented one at that, but it's just not a crucial role in the NBA anymore. The Suns were absolute fools to draft him, now they're paying for it. Ayton's lack of interest in adjusting his game also plays a big part here. He has a soft touch and could've improved his shooting and passing, as well as being more aggressive down low. He just doesn't have the mentality to do so.

It is clear Ayton just doesn't want to be there he wanted to leave but the Suns forced him back.

You should a video like this about Joel Embiid.

imagine if Randle's skill equaled his emotions in the playoffs.

I haven’t finished the video but I swear to god KAT better be on here.

As a guy who’s family is Bahamian I can tell you that one thing we don’t lack for sure is confidence no matter what the situation is 😂 (Klay & Buddy Hield are super confident too but they have reasons to be). Someone needs to humble Ayton but it definitely won’t be easy 😂

The randle footage hurt to watch lol, that shot selection is crazy

What I feel like a lot of people don’t mention about Julius Randle is that he doesn’t trust his right hand, he always goes/uses left hand on every attack to the basket

Agree with the Ayton take. We all know about Randle

Crazy to think this is the same Ayton who was putting up multiple 20-20 performances in the 2021 playoffs and doing things that hadn’t been done since Kareem 😢 Even then the Finals exposed him as not tough/quick enough to handle Giannis and the biggest need last year was an adequate backup. They thought they had it in McGee, but folded like a house of cards in G6 and G7 against Dallas.

Ayton didn't shrink two years ago until he ran into Giannis. He outplayed AD and went toe to toe with Jokic. It's a shame some players can't get paid what they really deserve. His No Testosterone play is what hurt our chances to pay Cameron Johnson, which I think helped the Durant trade. Ironically, I think Bridges and Johnson leaving hurt him, and Cameron Payne. The difference is Payne manned up and went crazy game 3. DA is still nowhere to be found. Start Landale and back him up with Bizzy. All heart.

Honestly, Randle as a 2nd option would light it up. I just hope the Knicks don't realize that. I think he'd be hilarious if the Knicks don't win a single championship until Stephen A finally has a coronary from disappointment all these years lol

Everytime I've watched ayton its like he is 80% there. He gets to the right spots to defend but he just doesn't quite go all the way. I don't want to say he doesn't care, it just seems like he's more timid then anything

Spot on.

As George Costanza would say about shrinkage...I WAS IN THE POOL

This list needs to be expanded with Embiid and Harden

Ayton is wasted potential. He got the tools needed to be great, but his mindset and maturity is in the way.

On Randle's case, i do agree that he is reckless and tries to do too much, but Thibodeau could certainly draw up some plays to put Randle in a rythm. But Thibs only cares about defense, and lets the offense be "free"

I feel like Randle just wants a Early Vacation. He doesn't put any effort in the games seems like he doesn't want to play during the playoffs 😂

Julius Randle plays like Antoine Walker

fr tho this is crazy

I really like Ayton. Its a shame really. He has the potential to be a solid star in the NBA

Ayton the new Hibbert

Ayton better play according to his demands and show up when the team needs him the most. His comments made me scratch my head lol

This whole time didn’t know Andy was a knicks fan

Randle was really inconsistent in the playoffs and my Hawks exposed him in the 2021 playoffs

I called it at the beginning of the season this was going to be one of the best play offs in a while. Everyone said Milwaukee and Celtics but Celtics are struggling and Milwaukee is out the first round I said we don’t know who’s going to win.

Accurate points, Randle shrinks under pressure most of the time. Ayton is talented but lacks the ability to persevere and effort

Randle has been the best player so far and he's been unstoppable.. For the heat

Randle is like a early career Joel,he needs to trust his teammates more,and some of the fault is in the Knicks for not building better around him

One of the unique and unorthodox playoffs I’ve ever witnessed And yeah I know Julius Randle has had a huge problem with this but besides RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson playing this well , Randle has been very on and off , and it’s very frustrating to watch for sure

I was waiting for the 3rd chapter on D’Angelo Russell

honorable mention, tyus

Man the struggle of being a Knicks fan is real. That's why if the Knicks ever win it all, grown men will cry

Do Tatum and Brown too after they get swept by the Heat. Thank you Sir Andy.

Andy hoops: see how randle isn’t a good passer Also Andy hoops only 10 seconds later: “he’s a good passer”

Randle to the Shanghai Sharks 😂

Once Aston leaves Phoenix, works on his game & find that dog in him he’ll be a beast

ayton is the perfect examPle of how draft Pick ruined him, wasnt the first pick material

Man Ayton needs to go!!! Give him that contract only to play like that!! Ridiculous!!!

Ayton needs a new environment

Jaylen Brown your next video Andy Hoops 🙏🙏🙏

Aryton shrunk so much he didnt even play the final game

One rumor that’s been floated around has been Randle for Middleton not the craziest idea

I knew the Suns were right to reject his max contract request. He was *NEVER* worthy of it or even his current NBA salary.

Randle need to better his playmaking, he shrinks the defence every time he make a driver's to the basket.

Nice.

Suns fan, wish we let Ayton walk while we had the chance, when you have Landale playing better in crunch time than him you know somethings up

Watching this as a Knicks fan is so painful

Great outlook on there Game😂 so true though!

Nicknaming himself "Dominayton" is very inaccruate lmaoo

Put the whole cavs roster besides d mit

@Andy Hoops no Poole? No Jrue? U missing players lol

Geuss if avarging 36 on 60% from the feild and 50% from three then almost everyone in nba history shirinks in the spotlight

Run on tesla battery... well that explains the inconsistencies

As a suns fan I am amazed how bad da is playing. He can be good. He just doesn’t wanna show it. If he dunks and goes for lay ups more. But he just doesn’t

These younger players arent just cut out for this sport anymore...