NBA 2018-19: Rookie of the Year Power Rankings, Week 9

#2 DeAndre Ayton

DeAndre Ayton

There were some red flags when Ayton was benched against the Blazers last week, but that just seems like a one-off thing now. He averaged 14.2 Points, 10 Rebounds and 1.7 Blocks this past week and had 3 Double-Doubles in 4 games.

That benching did seem to light a fire inside the big man and he has put in more effort on the defensive end, with 7 blocks in 4 games as compared to 3 in 5 games before that. Ayton also had one of his better defensive outings against the Timberwolves last time around, which is encouraging for the Suns.

The questions around Ayton were his effort and his defense, so it's good to see improvements in that regard. Coming up next for the Suns, who are on their first 2-game winning run in nearly a year, are the Knicks, Celtics and the Wizards