Deandre Ayton and his time with the Los Angeles Lakers hasnt been smooth from the start, but it now looks like the big man is turning a corner at exactly the right time.After earlier frustrations about his offensive role, Ayton has shifted his mindset, and its paying off. With the Lakers building momentum, the former No. one overall pick is leaning fully into the dirty work thats fueling winning basketball.Ayton admitted that a period of self-reflection changed everything.Thats a fact. That is a true fact, he told The Athletics Dan Woike. But me, I scratched that, I took that out. I said when it comes to scoring, we dont need that. We need you to put that energy what you have for offense and into defense.I just started looking in the mirror and said Yo bro, youre not that guy. You dont need to be on this team doing that at all. This team, you came here to be the effort guy and close out possessions, rebound. Run the damn floor hard as hell, make bigs work, make superstars work.And Im having fun with it, Im not gonna lie.That shift has coincided with a strong run for the Lakers, with Ayton impacting games through rebounding, rim protection and energy, areas that dont always show up in the box score but are critical in high-level games.He also acknowledged that the rest of the roster had already reached that level of urgency, and that hes now catching up as the playoffs approach.Related Article: Anthony Edwards Sidelined AgainJJs been instilling to us that this is a playoff atmosphere, and we fighting for a playoff position, Ayton said. You can tell LeBrons been locked in, Luka everybodys been completely locked in, and Im just tired of being the odd man out. I think I told the media the other day, its just me finally catching up.Teams been there; its just been me.READ MORE: Anthony Edwards Sidelined Again
