DeMar DeRozan could have put his Playoffs misery to bed with the Bulls lacking some important players, but he did what he does best – choked in the Playoffs.
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DeMar DeRozan’s meltdown in the 2022 Playoffs is one of the worst in the league since we witnessed James Harden’s for a stretch of 4-5 years when he was with the Houston Rockets.
This year the 5x All-Star had a career-best season, averaging well over 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists before the Playoffs kicked off. He was even in the MVP conversation for the first time in his 13-year career at 32-years of age.
Shoutout to DeMar DeRozan on a great season
Averaged a career high in points this season and helped change the culture in Chicago 🔥 pic.twitter.com/S9APYJUREa
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 28, 2022
But as the postseason started, so did his years of fear. He could manage merely 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in the 5 games against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. and lost the series without much of a fight at 4-1. He could have given his best as there was no pressure on them being the less favorite team in the tie.
Bulls were short-handed as they lacked primary point guard Lonzo Ball for half the season, and Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso had serious injury troubles. But it was still a shame for a team that led the Eastern Conference for so long to go down the way they did.
DeMar DeRozan has the worst cumulative ‘+/-‘ in the playoffs in the play-by-play era
Having their MVP fit and fine to lead their way, the Chicago Bulls should have taken the Milwaukee Bucks to Game 6, if not, they at least should have made all the 5 games more competitive with DeRozan scoring like a madman like the way he did in the regular season.
But all they could manage was a 30, 24, and 16-point beating to end their torment, most of which can be credited to Antetokounmpo’s dominance or DeRozan’s lack of it.
The former Raptors star is quite infamous for his post-season meltdowns, and the NBA community was eagerly waiting for him to put an end to it. But he proved his doubters right and as things stand after the 2022 Playoffs he is the player with the worst “plus-minus” ratings according to NBA Reddit and Statmuse. He leads Carmelo Anthony (-288) by a massive difference of 83.
DeMar DeRozan has the worst career postseason plus/minus (data since 1996-97, the play-by-play era). pic.twitter.com/9ecpS459Dt
— Real Talk 🏀 (@Real7Talk) April 29, 2022