To be fair, cumulative plus-minus was a statistic that, to some extent, could reflect the benefits—or drawbacks—of the team a player played for.
This season, the Knicks led the league by a huge margin in the standings, while the Oklahoma Thunder firmly held the second-best record.
That was perhaps another major reason Chen and SGA, the undisputed centerpieces of those two teams, stood so far above most other players in plus-minus.
After all, a team's point differential had a considerable effect on that statistic.
Another similar example was the Phoenix Suns.
Thanks to their exceptionally strong offensive efficiency, they could frequently overwhelm opponents by wide margins, bringing their core players' cumulative plus-minus totals to very impressive levels as well.
As for Old Zhang... if anyone asked, it was because the Lakers were absolutely awful!!!
Trash team! Ruining our Zhang's reputation at the end of his career. Damn them!
Back to the game, Boston had possession next.
White brought the ball across half court, then passed to Porzingis at the top of the key.
Porzingis initiated a face-up attack with the ball.
Once again, he had Ethan defending him on a mismatch.
A shot fake, a drive, one dribble, then he gathered and rose for a mid-range jumper.
The two-pointer went in.
The entire sequence was incredibly effortless, incredibly simple, and incredibly absurd.
Even a wingspan freak like Ethan could not stop the seven-foot-two Porzingis from pulling up right in front of him.
Besides, Porzingis was very smart and very levelheaded.
He knew his ballhandling was not good enough to support overly flashy moves off the dribble, and he knew his body might not let him power all the way to the rim reliably. So he preferred to finish with a longer, less efficient two-point jumper.
His reason was the