Ayton was DominAyton the whole game. Completely shut off Sengun in 1v1 isolation, gobbled up every board in his vicinity and held the Rockets to only 8 offensive rebounds, and his rimrunning game opened up shots for the flamethrower Hachimura and other defense-collapsing actions. I remember one play where the defense collapsed on him in the paint, so he threaded a pass to Hachimura in the corner who instantly sniped the 3.

joe4553 | Lakers

309 | 6 hours ago

THEY WERE TRYING TO TURN HIM INTO CLINT CAPELA

Kdot32 | Rockets

138 | 6 hours ago

This was a very Clint Capela game from him and I mean that as a compliment

SloshaPacana

42 | 6 hours ago

Capela would finish some lobs and putbacks Ayton couldn’t finish today

If Ayton learned how to roll to the rim like prime Capela it would be so good for his game

JorSimpson45 | Lakers

28 | 6 hours ago

Capela coming in during garbage time got a chuckle out of me

whooopseee | Spurs

8 | 5 hours ago

Capela vs Baby Capela!

wfd1004

153 | 6 hours ago

Dude had Sengun in the fucking gulag

sbstooge | Grizzlies

107 | 6 hours ago

Turned that boy to Alperen Cancün

getrektnolan | East

16 | 6 hours ago

More like Alperen Gälveston

old_ironlungz

3 | 2 hours ago

Chürros, Ernëh

ThaRealSunGod | Lakers

8 | 4 hours ago

Turned him into jokic.

Ayton is baby Gobert

henryofskalitzz | Supersonics

4 | 3 hours ago

Both Hayes and Ayton played really good defense on Sengun

Tho tbh all they had to do was force sengun to his left to nullify him in the paint. That brother has zero bag

Currymvp2 | Warriors

142 | 6 hours ago

Yeah was not a coincidence the Rockets only got 78. Shutting down Sengun like Ayton will lead to that happening.

Ayton also played some great defense against Jokic in the 2021 WCSF

Ok_Daikon_7726 | Lakers

62 | 6 hours ago

It’s the frustrating thing with him, he’s clearly able to be a top 10, maybe even top 5 center in the league, but he just doesn’t do it

3splendas

42 | 6 hours ago

he literally stays up all night playing 2k. bro could be so good but will just stay mid and enjoy the money i guess…

Acrobatic_Dish6963

34 | 5 hours ago

Dude is way too chill for his own good. I think JJ being the psycho he is has had a good influence on him so far

Lopsided_Path_4460

14 | 4 hours ago

Wouldnt be surprised if JJ is super attentive to him in private. Def seems like a guy that thrives with that kind of connection

Plastic_Blood1782

9 | 4 hours ago

All these guys play a fuck ton of video games. Luka is a top 500 overwatch player, you know how many hours that takes?

resplendentcentcent | Australia

12 | 3 hours ago

i think a lot of people with high pressure jobs need vices. at least its video games and not hookers and drugs and gambling like it used to be

BalboaBaggins | Lakers

5 | 3 hours ago

I mean some of these dudes are just hypercompetitive and can’t turn if off. Even when he has time off from being an All-Pro NBA player, Luka still needs to chase that high.

It’s like how Max Verstappen apparently spends most of his free time rinsing random people around the world in sim racing.

tuinktuink

5 | 5 hours ago

Tall, good touch, good shooter, good defender, not injury prone, but lack motor and weak metality

sorrowdemon

3 | 4 hours ago

Bro is built like Giannis. It pisses me off when I see Ayton NOT defending and grabbing all the boards like this every game. He should physically dominate every center. But he’s so inconsistent

Waikuku3

144 | 6 hours ago

His effort on the boards tonight has been good.

--Alix-- | Mavericks

51 | 6 hours ago

More than good. It was amazing.

SloshaPacana

21 | 6 hours ago

Overall even on defense and he was getting angry at fouls and everything

lyinassmedia

1 | an hour ago

Had an even better game 5 . Finished with 18 boards and double digit points.

KarrotMovies | LAL

66 | 6 hours ago

JJ finally stopped with the Sengun doubles and trusted Ayton to just work him 1 on 1

IllegitimateRisk | Nuggets

61 | 6 hours ago

Ayton is their key when Luka comes back. 10+ rebounds and 2 blocks a game will make a huge difference for them

bbaIla | Lakers

39 | 6 hours ago

It won’t matter vs the Thunder lol. They’re gonna roll.

IllegitimateRisk | Nuggets

32 | 6 hours ago

While you might be right, as a 3rd party fan I’m very interested to see what happens

revochups | Lakers

14 | 4 hours ago

Knicks vs Hawks game 6 is what I’m prepared for a series without Luka. Anything better than that is moral victory for me and as you know, Lakers lead league in moral victories.

19Alexastias

4 | 5 hours ago

If you guys win one I think you can be proud. Especially if Luka still isn’t back which I think is likely (and probably the correct decision because why risk a way worse injury when you’re probably not going to win even if he does play).

Ilikesporks_ | Lakers

3 | 6 hours ago

if* luka comes back. not guaranteed he comes back

Gristle__McThornbody | Lakers

23 | 6 hours ago

He did extremely well defensively on the perimeter and in the paint. Probably one of his best games all season.

CrazyDaylight8 | NBA

18 | 5 hours ago

This sub is so desperate to hate him but he’s been so important for the Lakers

mrwhittleman | Rockets

9 | 4 hours ago

Credit where credit is due. He was pretty great.

IntelligentAd5460 | Grizzlies

12 | 6 hours ago

he was a nightmare match up for sengun all series 1v1

fuuthat

9 | 6 hours ago

He showed great effort this game and the last one as well before he got ejected. Gotta bring that energy all the time man.

actually-potato | Pistons

9 | 6 hours ago

If Duren could get 16 boards at any point for us I would be pretty happy

Interesting_Book_759

6 | 6 hours ago

Better than Capela

KaraDealer | Lakers

5 | 6 hours ago

Ayton prepare that ass whooping from Chet and Hartenstein 😭

herroyung | Warriors

7 | 5 hours ago

Any decent center can look like Hakeem against the Sengooner tbh, you’re probably right

motorboat_mcgee | Lakers

5 | 5 hours ago

Also some really underrated moments on the perimeter after switches

pokemonizepic | Wizards

4 | 5 hours ago

He was the lakers best player in game 5 as well IMO, dude is playing hard and I can’t wait to see what he does vs the thunder and next season

Victor_Wembanyama1 | Spurs

3 | 6 hours ago

Ayton was amazing on the boards and clamped Sengun. Props to him.

AssignmentIll1748 | Knicks

3 | 5 hours ago

The Crypto Colossus has embraced the Capella role

EnriquezGuerrilla | Lakers

1 | 3 hours ago

The man in the mirror 😭 What a decent center does for your team

Thealbumisjustdrums | Heat

1 | 3 hours ago

He was amazing on defense. Totally owned Sengun.

catperson77789 | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

This man had 10 fucking offensive boards in game 5. He is really fucking good when he is on

lyinassmedia

2 | 41 minutes ago

Honestly the most impressive part is his switchability. He can keep up with athletic, fast twitch guys like amen just as easily as Sengun. He can switch on small guards like Reed

Deandre “I looked in the mirror” Ayton finishes with 7 points and 16 rebounds with a 7/16/1/0/1 statline that belies his dominance this game