2 Studs and 2 Duds from Trail Blazers' nail-biting loss to the Pelicans

Dud No. 2: Deandre Ayton

This dud spot was originally going to go to Deni Avdija, who finished with just two points on 1-9 from the field. But while Avdija played poorly relative to expectations, he still impacted the game in various ways that wouldn't necessarily appear on the box score. You can't say the same for Ayton, who finished with ten points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks on 5-14 from the field.

The Blazers' main advantage in this matchup was their size, even more so than in their season opener against the Warriors. The Pelicans started Daniel Theis, who played 18 minutes, with Baylor rookie Yves Missi also playing 22 minutes.

Ayton should have feasted in this matchup but reverted to his old ways as a talented center who hasn't yet been able to piece it all together. He doesn't embrace physicality enough and oftentimes tends to play in the midrange with spot-up jumpers as opposed to playing with his back to the basket, which would have particularly been largely beneficial in this game.

Ayton did certain things well, like his 15 rebounds and two blocks. But there were times on offense where the Blazers' possessions and momentum seemed to have stalled with Ayton getting touches and deciding it's in the best interest of the offense—where Scoot Henderson and Grant have been playing well—to attempt to be "DominAyton" with multiple midrange jumpers to go along with a crucial uncontested missed dunk attempt.