With those three aforementioned players playing heavy minutes, Ball’s defensive chops will be crucial for the Bulls, as just he and second-year forward Patrick Williams project as plus-defenders in Chicago’s starting lineup.Ībout to hit his age-24 campaign, we expect Ball’s game to take another jump in 2021-22, which explains why we have him ranked above the likes of Lowry and Walker. ![]() With Chicago, Ball won’t be asked to do too much as a scorer, not with bucket-getting, offensive savants like Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan around, which will allow the oldest Ball brother to do what he does best: create for others in unique situations, space the floor with his feet set and, most of all, defend his tail off. Playing alongside defensive studs Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, as well as PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris, Lowry is going to fit right in with what should be a tough Heat team, especially on the less glamorous end of the floor.Īs for the point-producing side of things, his ability to score off the dribble, including from beyond the arc, and the juice he still has as a driver should help Lowry give Miami more than Goran Dragic did last season as a scorer, which was just part of why the Heat were so eager to acquire him this offseason.įor the latest Kyle Lowry rumors, click here.Ģ020-21 stats: 14.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.5 spg, 37.8 3PT%Ĭoming off his best season as an outside shooter, and arguably his best season as a pro in general, Lonzo Ball is heading to an entirely new situation with the Chicago Bulls, but one that should suit his skill set quite well. ![]() Regardless, based purely on his production last year, Lowry remains among the Eastern Conference’s elite when it comes to the lead-guard spot, and now set to join a Miami Heat squad closer to contention than the Toronto Raptors of 2020-21 were, he’ll have that extra bit of motivation that he may have been missing last season. If Russell can start the year out healthy in 2021-22, that’ll go a long way for both the player and his club, as it’ll give the Wolves their first true glimpse of what the Russell- Anthony Edwards– Karl-Anthony Towns triumvirate might be.ĭefense might be a bit of a problem there, but if that trio can just develop chemistry together, they’ll undoubtedly be a problem for opponents to slow down offensively.įor the latest D’Angelo Russell rumors, click here.Ģ020-21 stats: 17.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 7.2 apg, 2.8 3PTM, 39.6 3PT%Īge-related concerns kept veteran point guard Kyle Lowry fairly low in these rankings, lower than he would be if he weren’t about to be 36 when next season rolls around. Regardless, Russell’s injury luck is partly to blame for his lack of consistency over the past two seasons, with the talented southpaw seeing action in just 45 games in 2019-20 (merely 12 of those coming with the Minnesota Timberwolves) and 42 games in 2020-21. We’re now a full two seasons removed from D’Angelo Russell’s lone All-Star campaign in his career, and though his raw averages since then haven’t been bad, it may be time to consider that Russell might fall into the Above-Average Starter tier as opposed to the tier reserved for All-Stars. Unfortunately for the Charlotte legend, he missed the second half of the campaign due to knee problems.2020-21 stats: 19.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.9 3PTM, 38.7 3PT% Walker decided to return to his hometown of New York to join the New York Knicks in the offseason of 2021, with the guard posting 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 37 regular-season games. Despite that ailment, he still averaged 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists between Games 1 and 3. In the 2021 NBA Playoffs, however, he could only play the first three games of Boston's series against Brooklyn due to a bone bruise in his left knee. Walker shined for Boston, averaging 19.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 17 games as the Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals.įollowing an injury-affected start to the 2020-21 campaign, Walker made his season debut in mid-January and went on to post 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 43 regular-season contests. The 33-year-old also returned to the playoffs with the Celtics and got past the first round for the first time in his career.
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