Basketball is in (relatively) full swing: star players are upset (Siakam and Harden), bad teams are looking good (Cleveland), and trade rumors are flying around like wasps on a garbage can at a carnival (Harden, Beal, Griffin, Love, etc). That means we have enough of a sample size to make some real judgments about the league's four same-named/different-spellinged DeAndres.
Instead of the 5-question intro this week, I'm going to mull on something obvious for a couple hundred words.
LeBron James was celebrated this week for clearing 1,000 consecutive regular season games with at least 10 points scored. Thousands upon thousands of words have been written about this accomplishment, but I'm going to throw a few of my own into the ring. Here is a rundown of things that have happened to me since January 6, 2007, the last time LeBron scored fewer than 10 points.
I was a sophomore in college in January of 2007. Starting from there I changed my major, met a girl, dated her for 2 years, graduated, broke up with her, moved back home, worked in the Cavs team shop for a season (where I bumped into Delonte West on one occasion and the 2010 playoff Bulls team on another), got a new serious relationship, realized I was spinning my wheels in Cleveland, and moved to Chicago. I then worked odd jobs for a year, did comedy classes and some shows, got a real job and kept it for 3 years, left the country for the first meaningful time in my life, went on blind dates, went to my friends' weddings, met my friend's kids, made new friends, and started a new romantic relationship. Then I moved to Italy, got engaged, visited about half the countries in Europe, took 15,000 photos and wrote 120,000 words of diary, taught English, missed my friends and family (but not too much because, you know, Italy), ate gelato twice a week, made new friends in Europe, tried skiing for the first time, swam in the Mediterranean, and generally galivanted around the old continent. Then I moved back to Ohio due to some family things, got a dog, got married, got a job, moved to a different house, wife got a new job, bought a house, started the DeAnd'Rankings, started living through a pandemic, got another job, and I've now been married for over five years.
And between every single one of those events, LeBron James was one of the 3-4 best people in the world at playing basketball. It is incomprehensible. I cannot comprehense it.
So, you know, there's that.
On to the rankings.
The DeAnd'Rankings, Season 2, Volume II
4. DeAndre' Bembry
It's no fun, but Bembry is basically penciled into the #4 spot for the foreseeable future. He's getting next to no run at all with the Raptors, which is interesting because the Raptors are basically garbage through their first handful of games. At this point is Bembry giving you anything less than Stanley Johnson, who has played about 4x as many minutes despite shooting 27% from the field?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Gonna be a long season for DeAndre'.
3. DeAndre Jordan
Movement in the rankings! DJ can still get boards and can still alter shots at the rim, but the role is just not really there for him anymore. Jordan has per-36 averages of 8 points and 5 fouls, though the 2.7 blocks and 13.5 rebounds are great. His minutes seem to be slipping lower by the game, however, and games where he plays 20+ minutes are effectively a thing of the past.
Even so, a guy who gets rebounds and blocks shots has value, it's just not quite as high as it used to be.
2. Deandre Ayton
Whoa! Ayton falling to #2 early in a season where Chris Paul is supposed to be feeding him lobs? The Committee did NOT expect this!
But let's dig in a little: Deandre Ayton is improving on defense, and that's great. He's also grabbing a lot of offensive rebounds, which is a really big deal. But the Suns are 5-2 and Ayton's +/- has basically no bearing on their success. They beat Dallas by 4 in their opener and he was a -4. They beat Sacramento by 16 and he was a -1. They beat Utah by 11 and he was a -1. They beat Denver by 3 and he was a -11.
This could be a nod to how the Suns have a sneaky-good bench that's keeping them in games, but it may also be that Deandre Ayton's play is not really translating into team success yet, and that's a concern.
1. De'Andre Hunter
A new number 1! De'Andre Hunter has been playing really good basketball for the Hawks this season. He has a distinction that the other DeAndres don't in that he's basically the Hawks' defensive stopper. That won't always show up in box scores, but he spent a lot of time this week chasing Kevin Durant on the defensive end of the floor. And while KD put up fine numbers, so did Hunter. In the 2nd Brooklyn/Atlanta matchup, De'Andre went 9/10 from the field en route to 23 points - a number he matched two games later.
You're lying if you claim you predicted that De'Andre Hunter would have an early 16/7 average on 53% shooting and over 48% from deep. And while the latter would be record-breaking accuracy from deep, this loaded Hawks offense will keep him getting open looks all season long.
2020-2021 SEASON STANDINGS
4. DeAndre' Bembry - 2 points
3. DeAndre Jordan - 5 points
T-1. Deandre Ayton - 6 points
T-1. De'Andre Hunter - 6 points
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