TRAINER’S ROOM Astros: SS

**elaine95** 18 сен 2018, 05:25

Since the heady days of Steve Nash came to an end Ed Dickson Jersey , there have been few signs of joy from a dwindling fan base that watched the Phoenix Suns tumble to the bottom of the NBA standings and miss the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.

Then came the announcement that Deandre Ayton would go to the Suns with the first overall pick. A huge cheer went up from the several thousand fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Thursday night for the draft party. General manager Ryan McDonough, owner Robert Sarver and coach Igor Kokoskov came out of their meeting room to watch and bask in that rare moment of sheer joy from the fans.

”It was a pretty special moment for our franchise,” McDonough said.

Not only that, but McDonough engineered a last-minute trade for swingman Mikal Bridges of Villanova, the 10th pick. It was a spendy move because Philadelphia demanded and got Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick. But the Suns are weary of stockpiling assets. It’s time to cash in, they figured, and did it with that trade.

”We weighed the pros and cons of trading it heavily and carefully,” McDonough said. ”We were only going to put it in play if we had a chance to get a special player and that’s how we feel about McKell.”

All four of the Suns’ picks showed up on a crowded dais in Phoenix on Friday – Ayton, Bridges, French point guard Elie Okobo (chosen 31st) and forward George King of Colorado (the 59th selection).

The 7-foot-1 Ayton towered over the others, in a white unbuttoned collared shirt and a sharp blue suit, but he looked and sounded a bit weary from the whirlwind of being the No. 1 draft pick. His only sleep lately Nick Perry Jersey , he said, was a couple of hours on the plane ride from New York on Tuesday.

”I’m just excited to finally get a jersey on and be able to play five-on-five again,” Ayton said.

Ayton had been the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick ever since the draft lottery and any doubts were erased when he went through an individual workout with the Suns, the only team which he did so.

McDonough said that Ayton’s workout ”in and of itself was as impressive as I’ve ever seen in my 16 drafts in the NBA.”

Ayton is seen as strictly a center, so how does he fit in the modern style of the NBA, when center plays is diminished and players are essentially interchangeable, is a question. Ayton replied that he’s no ordinary center.

”I don’t like it when people think I’m just a guy down low,” he said. ”They haven’t watched me shoot the basketball.”

Ayton and Bridges say they got to know each other well at the college awards ceremony in Los Angeles but never figured they’d be on the same team.

”It’s like I’ve known him my whole life,” Bridges said.

Now comes the hard work, molding a team with Ayton, Devin Booker and Josh Jackson. A billboard of those three already has been erected downtown.

The Suns, so bad for so long Justin Houston Jersey , seem on the brink of being relevant.

”We’re very hungry,” Ayton said. ”I think the great team chemistry and the work ethic that we have, especially us guys coming in, we’re going to bring it to the next level. We’ve got young lets. We can run all day. … We can really start a winning legacy.”

And Ayton is the reason for the sudden leap in optimism, even though he won’t turn 20 until next month.

”I embrace it a lot,” he said of the expectations placed upon him. ”Through my career I’ve always had that on my shoulder, the expectations. I represent a whole nation (Bahamas) I just do that the best that I can and just help this community start over and be the best player I can possibly be. I just want to be the best great player.”

Kokoskov says Ayton possesses ”a unique talent for the decades.”

Ayton said he wants ”to be the best person on and off the court.”

Now the Suns move on to the next phase. Free agency starts July 1 and McDonough wants some veteran players to add to this very young core. He said the team should have $15 million to $20 million to spend.

”We were aggressive last night with the picks and the trade up to get Mikal,” McDonough said. ”We’re going to continue to be aggressive for the next couple of weeks in free agency. We’ve got some money to spend and we’re looking to spend it on the best players we can get.”

Mike Trout may have finally broken out of his slump.

The two-time American League MVP drove in a teammate for the first time in more than a month, homering to cap a seven-run burst in seventh inning for the Angels in a 14-5 rout of the Houston Astros on Sunday.

”It was nice just to see some guys put some really good swings on balls and get some good momentum, some good vibes going. But it’s only for today. We got to be able to carry that over moving forward and we got to do it a lot more often,” said Andrew Heaney (6-6), who won his fourth consecutive home start.

With their superstar leading the way Otis Sistrunk Jersey , the Angels set a season high for runs and stopped a three-game losing streak.

Trout hit his 26th home run, a drive off Chris Devenski that followed Andrelton Simmons‘ single. Trout’s only RBIs since June 19 had been solo homers off Baltimore’s David Hess on June 29 and against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Ross Stripling on July 7.

Trout singled in the first ending streaks of 16 plate appearances and 11 at-bats without a hit.

David Fletcher had a two-run single in the big inning, Kole Calhoun greeted Devenski with a three-run homer and Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer in the eighth off J.D. Davis, an outfielder and corner infielder. A pitcher at Cal State-Fullerton, Davis had two mound appearances for the Astros in lopsided losses last year.

Houston had not allowed double-digit runs since a 13-12, 10-inning win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series and gave up its most runs since a 14-6 defeat at Detroit on July 29, 2016.

Lance McCullers Jr. (10-5) gave up five runs, six hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings. He became the first Astros pitcher to walk five or more in consecutive starts since Erik Bedard in July 2013.

”From the onset I think Lance was battling himself a little bit,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said. ”Didn’t quite put the finish put-away curve balls like he normally does, but you’re not going to have a game like this and not have everybody have a little bit of a bad day.”

Davis put the Astros ahead with an RBI single in the second, but Kinsler hit an RBI double in the bottom half that scored Shohei Ohtani and then came home on Luis Valbuena’s single.

It was Valbuena’s second hit and first RBI since July 4, setting the tone to end a four-game home losing streak to the division leaders.

But the Angels recognize that a one-off performance Lorenzo Alexander Jersey , no matter how eye-popping, does them no good at this point in the season. Los Angeles got back to .500 in its 100th game, trailing Seattle by 10 for the second wild card spot and 15 back of Houston.

”We got to be able to carry that over moving forward and we got to do it a lot more often,” said Heaney, who allowed one run, four hits and two walks in six innings. ”It’s time to get going. We’re not in any position to be able to sit back and look at this one fondly. We got to do it day in and day out.”

LEFT OUT

Catcher Jose Briceno was the only Angels batter who failed to record a hit, going 0 for 4. The rest of the lineup was 15 for 32.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: SS Carlos Correa (back) has resumed baseball activities following a setback in his recovery, Hinch said.

Angels: RHP Jim Johnson was activated off the DL after missing 32 games because of a strained muscle in his back. RHP Taylor Cole was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Gerrit Cole (10-2, 2.52 ERA) is 6-1 with a 2.53 ERA in 10 road starts this year going into Tuesday’s outing at Colorado.

Angels: RHP Jaime Barria (5-6, 3.55) is 0-5 in six starts and winless since June 1 heading into Monday’s start against the Chicago White Sox.

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