Deandre Ayton just finished his first game as an LA Lakers star, and fans were not impressed with the new signing’s performance
The Los Angeles Lakers just finished their first preseason game, losing 103-81 to the Phoenix Suns. With both Luka Doncic and LeBron James out tonight, they didn’t have the firepower they needed.
Most of the attention was given to Deandre Ayton, as he played for the first time in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey. Interestingly, Ayton’s first game was against his former team, the Phoenix Suns.
Devin Booker’s vagueness on Ayton’s chances with the Lakers raised a lot of eyebrows, with many wondering whether he knew something about the player that others didn’t.
And after Ayton’s first preseason game ended disappointingly, fans are in agreement that the Lakers may have overestimated his abilities.
NBA fans weigh in on Deandre Ayton’s debut disasterclass
In the LA Lakers’ preseason opener, Deandre Ayton started the game and played for 18 minutes before taking the bench. He scored just one point and attempted two shots, while grabbing eight rebounds and two blocks.
Many fans responded after Ayton’s first game. One fan remarked, “Lakers fans found their new scapegoat.”
Another fan predicted Ayton’s woes to continue, noting, “Lakers fans will soon understand the pain. They’re in the denial stage now.”
One fan poked fun at the Lakers fanbase, writing, “Lakers fans thought he was their savior.” However, not everyone was blaming Ayton, with some even coming to his defense.
A Lakers fan rightly pointed out, “I guess we’re posting preseason stats with the team’s two best players and playmakers out?”
Another fan urged people to watch the games, saying, “He looked solid watching the game. Only box score watchers would hate.”
A third fan echoed these sentiments, claiming, “He was great besides scoring. And it’s pre-season.”
LA Lakers have a poor preseason start as a whole
While Deandre Ayton didn’t do much to impress fans with his first game as an LA Lakers star, the same can be said for the rest of the squad.
Outside of Austin Reaves and RJ Davis, who combined for 34 points on 11-19 shooting, the rest of the team was wildly inefficient.
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Dalton Knecht, in particular, was quite poor, going 2-10 from the field and 1-7 from deep. It looks like Knecht’s Summer League woes have carried over into the preseason.
The Lakers will be hoping to turn things around in their next preseason fixture against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
