if CJ was the best defender on the Blazers it would show up in more gauges than just DRPM.
so let's test that theory:
defensive rating (last column):
View attachment 36462
now that reflects reality a lot better than CJ being the best defender, IMO
defensive winshares (last column) It's a cumulative stat so more minutes matter:
View attachment 36463
DBPM:
View attachment 36464
there really shouldn't be that big a gap between DBPM and DRPM
finally, how about the opposing team's offensive rating on/off which is effectively the defensive rating for Portland:
View attachment 36465
View attachment 36466
again, that more closely matches the eye test than CJ's DRPM number. I mean, if that number is valid, that means CJ is a better defender than Anthony Davis, Lebron, Aaron Baynes, Jae Crowder, Nurkic, Embiid, Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Marcus Smart, Nicolas Batum , Derrick Favors, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Durant, Giannis, Avery Bradley, and of course RoCo & Jones. Doesn't seem to match reality
again, those DRPM numbers sure seem to defy logic and rather look like artifacts of sample size, noise, and some very likely rotation anomalies.