Despite Suns' Recent Struggles, Deandre Ayton's Stock Keeps Rising

Phoenix Suns forward Deandre Ayton has made significant strides this season despite the team's recent struggles.

After a rough start to the season, Deandre Ayton wasn't very popular amongst Phoenix Suns fans as he was underachieving yet again. The former No. 1 overall pick has been one of the better centers in the league since being drafted, but he's never quite reached superstar status. 

While he has seen success, it doesn't compare to other draft picks in his class that were taken after him.

Recent Struggles

Phoenix has struggled significantly over the last few weeks, going 4-6 in their previous 10 games. Devin Booker has been at the center of these struggles, battling through injuries and coming up short when he does see the court. Over his last five games, Booker has averaged 15.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 5.4 APG on lackluster 33/31/87 shooting splits. Over this stretch of games, the Suns have a 2-3 record.

The main struggles the Suns have faced have been on the defensive side of things, as they have averaged nearly 117 PPG through this stretch. Through their first 10 games, the Suns had a defensive rating of 107.7. 

However, in their last 10 games, they have a defensive rating of 116.9. This drastic change in defensive performance is the sole reason the Suns have faced this rough patch.

One Bright Spot Through the Adversity

As previously mentioned, Ayton hasn't been very popular, nor has he lived up to his expectations at this point in his career. Through his first 10 games this season, Ayton averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 1.5 APG on 55 percent shooting from the field. However, over his last 10 games, Ayton has averaged 19.5 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG on 66 percent field goal shooting. The main thing that has stood out in the box scores over this stretch is Ayton leading the way for Phoenix in most of these games.

While it hasn't been an easy time for the Suns organization, there has been one thing that they can look forward to. If Ayton can keep up this level of play once Booker returns to his usual self, Phoenix will be a terrifying team again. Mikal Bridges has also been a bright spot as he led the Suns to a victory over the Spurs scoring 27 points. 

The team will hope to get back on track against the Pelicans and turn their season back around. 

Ayton, out for a second straight game with an ankle injury, hopes to contribute to that upon his return.