It has taken Deandre Ayton a while to adjust to Portland, both on and off the court. Back in November he averaged 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, shooting 59.2% — solid numbers, but Ayton was passive much of the time and not the inside presence the Trail Blazers were counting upon.
Since the All-Star break, a more aggressive Ayton has averaged 24.5 points and 14.2 assists a game on 64.3% shooting. What changed? Ayton talked about that adjustment with Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, and part of his answer left NBA Twitter perplexed.
“My body wasn’t just my body,” he said. “People forget the humane difference of me adjusting to everything.”
That included something as routine as getting proper sleep.
“Just being comfortable in waking up,” he said. “I didn’t have a bed for quite some time. I was on an air mattress. Just trying to figure this out.”
Taking a while to adjust to a new city and new routine? Natural. It throws a lot of players off. Worrying about your family and children, and how they are adapting to a new city? Of course, that should be a concern.
Sleeping on an air mattress? I get that as a seven-footer he’s not ordering a standard mattress, but I’m not the first person to say this: One quick Google search and a credit card can have a mattress on your doorstep in 24 hours. I’ve done it. There’s a huge industry built up around this. Plenty of people reading this have done it. Getting a bed is just not that hard.
Consistency has never been Ayton’s hallmark. This stretch of strong play — when the team was out of contention for anything — is a positive, but can he carry it over to next season as Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson and the rest of this core continue to develop? Portland should be poised for a step forward next season, but showing maturity, development and consistency are all part of that. Ayton has to show all that, too.
And get a good night’s sleep more often.
