{"id":711381,"date":"2026-04-15T23:24:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711381\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T23:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:24:30","slug":"lakers-deandre-ayton-excited-for-return-to-playoffs-i-want-to-do-backflips-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711381\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 Deandre Ayton excited for return to playoffs: \u2018I want to do backflips\u2019 \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL SEGUNDO \u2014 When Deandre Ayton first spoke to reporters<\/a> as the newest Lakers signee in July, he brushed aside a question about whether there was a chance for a potential Big 3 scenario alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic, or if he was coming to Los Angeles to play a specific role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI leave that up to you guys,\u201d Ayton told reporters on July 8. \u201cI leave that up to you guys. I\u2019m just here to be a part of the puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayton, coming off a separation with the Portland Trail Blazers, hasn\u2019t been to the playoffs since the 2022-23 season, when he was still a focal point of the Phoenix Suns, who had drafted him with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Ayton helped lead the Suns to the NBA Finals as their starting center in 2021, securing the franchise\u2019s first Western Conference title since 1993.<\/p>\n

The puzzle pieces for the Lakers, and how Ayton fits into the team, have scattered over the course of the season.<\/p>\n

He recorded seven games of 20 points or more in 20 games<\/a> to begin the season, about half of which came without James, who was recovering from sciatica<\/a> at the time. But there was also a stretch through January and February when he averaged 10.8 points per game; including an ESPN article<\/a> in which Ayton exclaimed in the locker room that he was \u201cnot no Clint Capela,\u201d making reference to the Houston Rockets\u2019 high-energy big man known for his rim-running threat rather than traditional paint dominance.<\/p>\n

Just last week, Lakers coach JJ Redick<\/a> was openly critical of Ayton\u2019s pass-catching abilities after the team dropped a third consecutive game in their late-season stretch<\/a> without Doncic and Austin Reaves due to their respective Grade 2 strains.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had trouble catching the ball,\u201d Redick said last Tuesday. \u201cWe\u2019ve ran a bunch of plays for him. He\u2019s just had trouble catching the ball. And I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s the passing or if it\u2019s him trying to get position. He just, he hasn\u2019t been able to catch the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, as the team continued preparing to host the Rockets in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series on Saturday, Redick struck a different tune about his starting big man. Ayton said on March 12, after scoring 23 points in a season-high 37:08 minutes on the court in a victory over the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, that his energy and focus had \u201cfinally caught up\u201d with the rest of the Lakers.<\/p>\n

When asked where he felt Ayton has been since the center shared those remarks about where he felt he was, Redick said the Lakers are \u201cvery happy\u201d with where Ayton is heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole season for him has been about finding consistency,\u201d Redick said of Ayton, who has averaged 12.5 points and 8 rebounds per game. \u201cWhen he\u2019s at his best, we\u2019re an elite basketball team. That\u2019s just the reality. He raises our ceiling so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like when he first spoke about representing the purple and gold last summer, Ayton reversed a question back toward reporters on Wednesday when asked about his mid-March personal assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell me,\u201d he said, titling his head while awaiting a response.<\/p>\n

A reporter to Ayton\u2019s left responded by telling the post player that they wanted to hear from him. The 27-year-old Bahamian responded with a reiteration of his comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019all tell me,\u201d Ayton said. \u201cY\u2019all tell me. I like when you guys speculate and judge. But I ain\u2019t got no answers neither.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayton relented to a rephrased question about his performance against the Utah Jazz in Sunday night\u2019s regular-season finale<\/a>. Ayton scored 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots despite playing just 25\u00bd minutes against the Western Conference\u2019s last-place squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the Utah Jazz isn\u2019t the Houston Rockets,\u201d Ayton said, drawing laughs. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m glad I got some reps in where I can be out there and prolong, just to get some flow going before we had this long break. I appreciate JJ keeping me out there just making sure I work on my endurance and just keep my conditioning high.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LakersLakers center Deandre Ayton laughs while warming up before a game against the Houston Rockets on March 18, 2026, in Houston. Ayton says he’s excited to be back in the playoffs and doing so for the first time as a Laker. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ayton played in a career-high 72 games this season, one more than the 71 appearances he made when he was the NBA\u2019s 2018 Rookie of the Year. He added that he\u2019s proud of that fact, showcasing his stamina across an 82-game stretch; a season in which several teammates have had extended injury absences.<\/p>\n

Now likely to play a larger role in the Lakers\u2019 offensive scheming with Doncic and Reaves unavailable<\/a> for, in all likelihood, most of the first round, Ayton said that although he\u2019s been challenged this season, he\u2019s felt like he \u201cembraced\u201d everything that had been thrown his way.<\/p>\n

Houston\u2019s rebounding is a challenge the Lakers, and Ayton, must deal with in this series. The Rockets rank at the top of the league in offensive rebounds (14.9 per game) and ninth in total rebounds (47.7 per game). Against the Rockets, Ayton said he\u2019ll need to crash the glass \u2013 an assessment which matches the Lakers\u2019 box out-focused drills on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the team where you don\u2019t know who\u2019s gonna have the 30 points, or this or that. We\u2019re just going to play hard and just play together,\u201d Ayton said, adding that the Lakers will have to match the Rockets\u2019 \u201cbully-ball\u201d tonality. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve been here before where been the underdog, and you got to stick together and let defense win games.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what the Lakers did back in March, when they held the Rockets to 92 points<\/a> \u2013 albeit on a night when Houston was without star center Alperen Sengun \u2013 in the first of back-to-back victories in Houston; also a part of their nine-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

Ayton expressed joy about returning to the postseason stage, and the reality of appearing in the playoffs as a Laker \u2013 experiencing playoff basketball representing Los Angeles for the first time.<\/p>\n

Saturday, the proverbial curtains will rise and Ayton will line up for tip-off, the newest postseason chapter of his NBA career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am truly excited,\u201d Ayton said. \u201cI want to do backflips. I\u2019m in the purple and gold, and I just want to really just play hard as hell to contribute to wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

LAKERS VS. ROCKETS SCHEDULE<\/p>\n

All times are PT<\/p>\n

Game 1 \u2013\u00a0at Lakers, Saturday, 5:30 p.m., ABC (Ch. 7)<\/p>\n

Game 2 \u2013\u00a0at Lakers, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., NBC (Ch. 4)<\/p>\n

Game 3 \u2013\u00a0at Rockets, April 24, 5 p.m., Prime<\/p>\n

Game 4 \u2013\u00a0at Rockets, April 26, 6:30 p.m., NBC (Ch. 4)<\/p>\n

x-Game 5 \u2013\u00a0at Lakers, April 29, TBD<\/p>\n

x-Game 6 \u2013\u00a0at Rockets, May 1, TBD<\/p>\n

x-Game 7 \u2013\u00a0at Lakers, May 3, TBD<\/p>\n

x \u2013 If necessary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL SEGUNDO \u2014 When Deandre Ayton first spoke to reporters as the newest Lakers signee in July, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3785],"tags":[7,423,300,6,66,422,427,3972],"class_list":{"0":"post-711381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-utah-jazz","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-jazz","10":"tag-lakers","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-utah","14":"tag-utah-jazz","15":"tag-utahjazz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116411307076954814","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}