2021 FREE AGENCY: Markkanen wants out of CHI | DAL "definitely interested"

[michaeltex]

No.  The result is that he is somewhere between average to very bad.  It is also important to realize that the two guys we currently have playing his position (DFS and Maxi) are two of the best defenders on the team.

I'm not sure what your argument is regarding team defense?  The bottom line is that every legit contender was top 10 in defense (except the Nets), and just about every champion was a top 10 defense.  To be a true contender, it cannot be ignored.

I agree that is historically how it has been, but teams like ATL and BRK are breaking that mold. ATL beat NYK and PHI (#4 and #2 respectively) until they met MKE who inspirationally circled the wagons when GA went down. BRK was an odds maker favorite until injuries took them off the table, and it still took MKE 7 games to win.

There wasn't as much of a outlier in the west, but LAC beat UTA (#3 defensive) without KL thanks to the offensive efforts of PG and Mann.

I'm not saying that defense isn't important, but is there a trend starting to show up? If a team can score consistently enough, doesn't that puts pressure on the opponent to match their output and stresses their offensive rotations. Maybe to the point where they lose efficiency and the defense looks better as a result?

I don't know. My RW job involves looking for how systemic changes affect (or not) an outcome. But maybe I'm too close to the trees on this one.