Deandre Ayton on getting more touches: 'Bigs can't feed themselves'

The Los Angeles Lakers went just 5-7 in December, and there were many reasons for their subpar play. One of those factors was some underwhelming offensive output from starting center Deandre Ayton. In seven of the 10 games he appeared in during December, he scored 12 or fewer points.

After Ayton only mustered four points and four shot attempts in Friday's 128-121 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, coach JJ Redick admitted that the big man was likely "frustrated" about his lack of touches. Ayton looked more like his usual self in Sunday's 120-114 win with 15 points on 6-of-8 field-goal shooting, as his teammates made a more concerted effort to get him good looks.

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After Sunday's game, Ayton acknowledged the truth about how big men are dependent on playmakers to get them the ball in scoring position.

“Bigs can’t feed themselves. I just try my best do what I can to bring effort and I trust my playmakers out there to find me.”

He is among the NBA's more offensively skilled big men thanks to his ability to not only score very efficiently near the rim but also score out of the low post and hit mid-range jumpers. He has thus given the Lakers an offensive boost this season, so long as his teammates have gotten him the basketball often enough.

On the season, he's averaging 14.3 points on 70.4% field-goal shooting. He has also improved the team on the boards by getting 8.4 rebounds a game, and, at times, his rim protection has been very helpful.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Deandre Ayton on getting more touches: 'Bigs can't feed themselves'