Deandre Ayton showing Pacers exactly what they missed out on
Deandre Ayton is having a fantastic season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he's showcasing exactly what the Indiana Pacers are missing. In 14 games for the Lakers so far, the Arizona alum is averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting a career-best 69.9% from the field.After the Portland Trail Blazers bought him out in the offseason, there were some discussions about whether the Pacers would have interest in Ayton. Again. (Remember: they did offer him a four-year, $133 million deal in 2022 before the Phoenix Suns matched it). And, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Pacers did reportedly have interest in bringing him in.
"Sources say that the Pacers have, however, registered interest in Ayton," Fischer wrote in July.
Ultimately, Ayton joined the Lakers instead and is now playing a big role on a team that's 11-4 and looking like a legitimate title contender. Meanwhile, Indiana is still struggling to figure out its center situation after Myles Turner joined the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency.
Would signing Ayton have solved all of the Pacers' problems this season? Of course not. But it certainly would have made things a lot easier for them.
Deandre Ayton is playing a key role for the Lakers
Ayton was always supposed to be a good center in the NBA. He went first overall in 2018 in the same draft that featured guys like Luka Doncic (his current teammate, ironically), Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Brunson.
Obviously, most of those guys weren't ever expected to be as good as they turned out to be (Brunson was drafted in the second round), but it's still a testament to how highly Ayton was touted at the time.
However, throughout his time in the league so far, the idea of him has been better than the reality of him. He has always been solid, but he hasn't made much of a leap since finishing third place for the Rookie of the Year award in 2019.
Now, he is in a great situation in Los Angeles. With Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves being the main focal points on offense, Ayton can just focus on what he does best: rebounding and being a legitimate paint presence on both sides. If the Lakers win it all this season, it's not going to be solely because of Ayton. But he will surely be a reason they have a lot of success.
As for the Pacers, they are still struggling to figure things out without Turner. They are running a center-by-committee, which, for the most part, hasn't worked out well.
Isaiah Jackson has shown glimpses of potential, but he still isn't showcasing enough to prove he can be a full-time starter on the team. Jay Huff has mostly had a disappointing stint in Indiana so far, but he may be turning things around after his impressive 20-point, three-block performance against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. And Tony Bradley is still just Tony Bradley.
Having Ayton would have helped as he is a solid rim protector who can grab boards and finish in the paint.
There is still a lot of time for the Pacers to figure it out and for Ayton to potentially remind everyone why he's on his third team in four years. However, for now, he is showcasing exactly what Indiana is missing out on. And it may haunt them for the rest of the season.
I Still Can’t Believe How Callous Bones Was In This Classic Star Trek Episode
In Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 4, "The Enemy Within," a transporter accident separates Captain James T. Kirk (WIlliam Shatner) into 'good' and 'evil' versions. Without his darker side, the 'good' Kirk is weak and indecisive. Meanwhile, the 'evil' Kirk is a dangerous menace until the two Kirks are merged back into one, complete Captain.
"The Enemy Within" explores Kirk's character and how his dark side is essential, but cannot be left unchecked to run amok. There are dated and disturbing elements in this early
However, Dr. McCoy's behavior at the end of Star Trek: The Original Series
Bones Didn’t Care About Sulu In Star Trek: The Original Series “The Enemy Within”
At the end of Star Trek: The Original Series "The Enemy Within," the frozen bodies of Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and the USS Enterprise crewmen stranded on Alfa 177 are beamed aboard and wheeled past Dr. McCoy and Captain Kirk.
Sulu and the Enterprise crewmen weren't rescued by a shuttle since there was no shuttle built yet in this early stage of Star Trek: The Original Series.
The rescued crewmen should be Dr. McCoy's first priority, but he's more interested in how the restored Captain Kirk feels. True, Kirk is the Captain, and Jim is Bones' best friend, but once the Captain was made whole again, Dr. McCoy should have launched into crisis management mode.
The full attention of the Starship Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer should have been on Sulu and the rescued crewmen. Instead, Bones was in no rush to care for what should have been his main priority, the starship's personnel who were at death's door.
Bones' instant eyeball diagnosis when the frozen Starfleet Officers are wheeled past him is, "I think they'll make it." Captain Kirk should have told McCoy that he's fine and ordered him to care for his incoming patients, and Bones' sole focus at that point should have been on the frostbitten crewmen since Kirk was no longer in danger.
Bones’ Best Doctor Moment Was In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
On a mission to rescue Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) from a 1986 San Francisco hospital, Dr. McCoy meets an elderly lady dying of kidney failure. Outraged at the primitive medical care of the late 20th century, Bones gives the woman a pill.
Moments later, Bones, Admiral Kirk, Chekov, and Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks) pass the woman in the hall, and she's elated about Bones giving her a magic pill that grew her a new kidney. Bones didn't stop to soak up the woman's gratitude, but he lived up to his Hippocratic oath and gave her a new chance at life.
Bones helping the woman in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is my favorite moment of his as a doctor, where McCoy displays the compassion he seemed to lack when frostbitten Sulu is wheeled by him in
