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Just a random quirk I've noticed this year: 'star' PGs are not doing well against the Bulls this year.
It's strange to see because anecdotal evidence suggests Derrick Rose has lost a step as a defender overall, and usually a few times a game he'll have poor awareness costing the Bulls some points.
But the players Rose theoretically (it's a truly flimsy theory) 'gets up' for have not performed this year. This most recently happened against the Grizzlies:
Mike Conley: 3/14 (TS% 26.9%), 2 assists, 1 turnover
Chris Paul: 5/16 (TS 37.5%), 5 assists, 4 turnovers
Tony Parker: 6/12 (TS 50.5%), 9 assists, 0 turnovers
Damian Lillard: 4/22 (TS 34.3%), 8 assists, 2 turnovers
Russell Westbrook: 7/18 (TS 48.4%) 10 assists, 2 turnovers
This isn't an absolute or anything. Brandon Knight had a very good game in Chicago, for instance. Reggie Jackson did not. (Rose was out against Steph Curry and the Warriors)
And it obviously is a team effort. There's defensive help, Jimmy Butler taking some PG-defending responsibilities, and the backup PGs of Hinrich/Brooks/Moore of course soaking up some minutes. NBA.com has Rose's immediate opponents shooting a couple percentage points less than average when guarded by him, but that's a flimsy metric.
Just thought it was interesting. Rose's defense sure doesn't seem very good, but it's getting results. Kind of like the whole team this season, I guess.
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