The calendar will not even be flipped to November before Deandre Ayton circles his first must-win game of the season. 6 days into it, on Oct. 27, it will be the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.
That game will not just be another regular early-season matchup. For Ayton, it will mean more. It will be the first chance to respond, not with words, but with presence.
The Lakers’ third home game of the season brings the Blazers to Crypto.com Arena. The same franchise that earlier this offseason gave up on Ayton. They did not trade him; they cut him loose.