Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton’s performance against the Miami Heat last Tuesday made for a great microcosm of the primary issue plaguing Portland in Year One of the rebuild.
Ayton, for two quarters, lived up to the marquee billing of DominAyton. He beasted on the court in 18 minutes, scoring 12 points on 6-9 shooting, while registering 10 rebounds, two steals and a block. After a rocky and underwhelming start to his Portland career, the Miami performance was the latest example in a string of strong, efficient games that laid potential to the idea that Ayton could maybe evolve into Portland’s long-term answer at the center position.