> “Mainly just communicating,” Ayton told The Athletic. “Teams are using smaller guys at different positions, and they’re putting the ball on the ground, making our defense move and getting in the paint. When I go, there’s another big dude rebounding the ball and just crashing the glass and finishing in the paint. And we’re doing a lot of fouling. Playing a lot of defense and it’s putting pressure on our offense. It’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm on offense because we play so much defense and we’re fouling. All that stuff is deflating, man, and mental as hell.
> “We could say a lot. But really man, we just gotta approach these games knowing that teams are coming to knock our head off our body, bro. Defensive-wise, I just think we need to communicate more and play hard. We just gotta be more connected. The teams we see on film aren’t the teams we play — they’re playing harder and with a chip on their shoulder against us.”
[Source (Paywall)](https://theathletic.com/4000392/2022/12/14/phoenix-suns-loss-houston-rockets/)