The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WHEN the NBA schedule was released, we (because I’m making all of you a part of this) circled December 4 as the day we would literally witness a new historic chapter in Bahamian basketball.

December 4th came…and that feel-good story lasted about 10 minutes.

Kosta Koufos made what seemed like his 10th awkward floater of the night to give the Kings a 27-6 lead in the first quarter, and a chorus of boos reigned down from the crowd in Talking Stick Resort Arena.

At that point, I think we all realised this game wasn’t going to be anything like we thought it would be.

I have a fundamental belief that objective journalism is overrated and no member of the Bahamian media was in Talking Stick Resort Arena that night for objectivity.

Ostensibly, we were there to cover the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings, but even writers living on the west coast don’t gear up for an early December matchup between the ninth and 15th ranked teams in the Western Conference.

What we really intended it to be was a celebration of Bahamian basketball at the highest level. A showcase of Bahamian excellence from Buddy Hield and Deandre Ayton as sports again vaults us in a stature on an international level.

Writers plan leads. God laughs.

What it eventually turned into was an indictment of the Ayton under the hyper scrutiny that the No.1 pick in the NBA draft usually undergoes. He finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, just short of his 14th double double of the season. Modest numbers for someone that averages 16 and 10, but the game just didn’t pass the “eye test” and everyone took notice.

What made it look worse was the fact that his backup Rishaun Holmes was heralded for providing the effort and intensity Ayton failed to bring to the Arena against the Kings.

Holmes finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds but his activity was different. He was assertive, he was active, he fouled out in 22 minutes while Ayton didn’t block a shot or commit a foul in 20 minutes.

Disappointment is solely a product of expectations. The Suns front office expected more on this particular night. I think everyone did.

“We were talking to Ayton, we talked to a lot of guys. He’s one of the guys. I can use Ayton as a positive example when it comes to transition defence and effort in transition. So I think that definitely he can do better when it comes to reaction and hustling back and teach him the first three steps. He was nothing but a truck in the field, but he wasn’t the only guy. He didn’t come ready to play and there were just some other guys who showed up better prepared, more focused, played harder and it’s a process for a young player,” Suns Head Coach Igor Kokoskov said, “Ayton is a rookie, he’s going to hit a wall, he’s going to have bad games and we’re still here to support him and coach him and teach him. He’s still our future, nothing changes off one game. He didn’t play an impressive game by any means but Deandre is our guy.”

The Suns were missing leading scorers Devin Booker (23.5 ppg) and TJ Warren (17.7 ppg) from the lineup, which seemed like the perfect situation for Ayton to assert himself offensively, but his words from shootaraound seemingly set the tone for his play.

“It’s more on my plate with them out. I know that, but this is a team game. I’m a player that goes into rhythm and score on effort plays. I don’t just go out there and start to hunt shots because that’s not my personality, he said, “Me protecting the rim and rebounding its as much as I can give to control what I can control, but the rest of my teammates got it.”

They didn’t have it, not even close.

The body language was weird. It was off. So was the game.

Suns legend and Fox Sports Arizona analyst Tom Chambers was one of the strongest voices to criticize Ayton’s effort, calling him “soft.”

It didn’t help that on the opposite bench, Buddy was on pace for one of his best games of the season. Hield scored 20 points in just 18 minutes and set the tone for the Kings to outscore the Suns 36-9 in the first quarter en route to the win.

From the morning shootaround the vibe around the players was different. As usual, Buddy was the last one to leave and will literally shoot jumpers until the Kings staff has to physically force him off the floor. On the other side, when asked if he received any advice from Buddy on handling the pressure of his rookie season, Ayton flatly replied “nah.”

There was no interaction between the two pregame, on the court, postgame, nothing to indicate that these were two players from a country that’s NBA success is completely disproportionate to its population and lack of basketball development at the grassroots level. Nothing to indicate that these were the only two members of an exclusive fraternity within an already exclusive fraternity of basketball players.

The body language was weird. It was off. So was the game.

Their stories will always be connected but their journeys are undoubtedly different but we need them to “sell this fight” a bit more. There’s no Connor McGregor in this…but there should be.

Buddy is in a different space right now, but wasn’t always this way. This is the context we need when we consider Ayton’s “struggles” as a rookie. Buddy’s been through adversity, he’s three years into his career, he’s already had a change of scenery, he’s a father. Unfulfilled expectations of being the perfect complimentary piece to Anthony Davis and the life of a rookie got the better of him many times during the New Orleans tenure. There was that natural feeling of inadequacy any rookie would have traded about 40 games into their NBA career.

Ayton was the country’s first one and done. He had to learn the business of basketball earlier than anyone should have to. He was heralded as the “Best 8th Grader In America” just a little over a year after he was formally introduced to the game at the Jeff Rodgers camp.

I don’t know how anyone can possibly live up to those expectations, I can’t even get a column in before deadline. It also explains the disparity in our pay scales.

He was also accustomed to winning. Now he’s in a situation where he’s losing by historic margins on a nightly basis and it exacerbates every story in the headlines.

“Ayton comes off the bench for the first time”

“Ayton exchanges words with Devin Booker following loss to Blazers”

Veterans want out of Phoenix as much as the Bahamian voting populous ALWAYS wants the opposition party. This team may not reach 10 wins by All-Star break and its led by a pair of players whose combined age is just a few months older than Vince Carter.

There’s a long way to go in this process, but for all of his shortcomings, this is the one place we need to practice patience, nuance, and subjectivity. It has to start with him, and we have to rally and follow suit. The same way we stood by Buddy as he struggled to find his voice and find his shot, we rally behind Ayton as he develops into the leader the Suns and my column ideas need him to be.

This was just the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Suns will also host game two on January 8 so we have another shot at this. In fact, giving the trajectory of their careers, we have several shots at this.

What I selfishly want, what we all want is the best for both players, the country to have its perfect moment, and a feel good story that resonates and is perhaps turns into a film or documentary (I should be played by either Michael B. Jordan or Chirs Hemsworth, no other options.)

I also want that moment not to be ruined by Kosta Koufos.