Around the league thread 2021-2022

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Wojnarowski:

Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio has suffered a season-ending ACL tear to his left knee, sources tell ESPN.

That's really brutal. You have to feel for the guy. He's already rehabilitated and recovered from a torn ACL to his left knee. It's part of sports, but damn.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Well, that really sucks. Big blow to their overall depth of experience and a guy that just knows how to play and set others up.

[WildWolf2813]

McLaughlin to Cleveland for another 2nd rounder please

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Cleveland acquired Rajon Rondo as their Ricky Rubio replacement. The Lakers received Denzel Valentine and will waive him to create another roster spot.

[Q-is-here]

DeRozan might be turning a corner....

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

DeRozan might be turning a corner....

That and he's been legitimately good for the last decade.

[thedoper]

DeRozan might be turning a corner....

That and he's been legitimately good for the last decade.

Has he ever been bad?

[AbeVigodaLive]

DeRozan might be turning a corner....

That and he's been legitimately good for the last decade.

Has he ever been bad?

According to some... his teams would have been better off if he never saw the floor.

Or something like that.

[FNG]

DeRozan might be turning a corner....

That and he's been legitimately good for the last decade.

Has he ever been bad?

Ah, the DeRozen discussion again...I think I may have seen this before!

No, I don't think anyone would ever suggest that Demar has ever been bad. But for those that think statistics have some merit, it's not too difficult for even the most casual NBA fan to see that his 2021-22 season doesn't look much like the rest of his career. I don't think the suspiciously-named Q-was-here is suggesting that DeRozen was ever bad...he's always been a talented basketball player. I think he is just saying that, much like our own DLo and our (formerly) own Andrew Wiggins, he is having the best season of his career...hence, turning the corner. Just take a look at some of his stats this year compared to his career averages:

PPG: 26.8 vs. 19.8, despite playing next to a very high scoring Zach Lavine

3-point shooting: 37.3% (on 8.8 attempts per game) vs. 28%. His previous best was 33.8% and he has seldom been over 30%

Net rating: +7 compared to a negative rating for his career (Wig and DLO...are you paying attention? You're both in this select group too!).

And a bonus stat for the cohort here who believe outscoring your opponent is at least as important as accumulating style points (something our Wolves haven't quite learned yet): A team-leading on/off of 18.7, for a guy who has only had a positive on/off once in his career! Cleaning the Glass gives him an expected wins score of 37 wins, while his career total up to this season was 86 losses!

I don't think Q-was-here's comment that DeRozen has turned a corner is all that controversial. Yeah, he's never been "bad", but he is truly spectacular this season.

[Q-is-here]

Q IS here, but by the time you read this, Q WAS here...get it? Doh!

I think the Bulls are a fascinating team and somewhat of a rich man's version of this year's Wolves. They threw together three guys used to being 1A/B type scoring options and not known for defense - Vuc, LaVine, and DeRozan (think KAT, DLO, and Edwards) - and they have managed to become a top 5 offense AND maintain a top 10 defensive rating.

I get that Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso bring a PBev-like ferocity to the defensive end, so that certainly helps. I think Billy Donovan and his coaching staff deserve a HUGE amount of credit for getting this team to compete on both sides. Vuc, LaVine, and DeRozan are all at or near career-best individual defensive ratings. The coach and scheme deserve props.