Morning Coffee: DeRozan breaks Chamberlain’s record

We’ve reached the final stop before the NBA All-Star break, with five games on the schedule tonight.

If last night’s games are any indication, we could be in for some more odd bounces before the association heads to Cleveland.

NBA underdogs went a combined 7-2-1 against the spread last night, with four outright upsets, two of which were by double-digit underdogs.  

We also saw four double-digit comebacks.

Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan made history by becoming the first player ever to score 35+ points while shooting at least 50 per cent from the field in seven straight games.

As I wrote about earlier this week, DeRozan has forced his way into the MVP conversation with his brilliant play.

Suddenly, he’s a top-six choice to win that award, according to oddsmakers.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Thursday Feb. 17, 2022.

DeRozan breaks Chamberlain’s record

DeRozan went off again for a team-high 38 points on 59 per cent shooting as the Chicago Bulls (-5.5) cruised to a 125-118 win over the Sacramento Kings.

DeMar DeRozan has broken Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most consecutive games with 35+ points on 50% or better shooting. pic.twitter.com/bmHRUg5tf2

As I highlighted earlier in the week, it’s remarkable that any player could match Chamberlain’s record.

The fact that it’s a 6-foot-6 small forward that did it is astonishing. After all, Chamberlain was a 7-for-1 centre.

It happened. DeMar DeRozan is the first player in NBA history with 35+ points on 50% shooting in 7 straight games. 38 PTS | 59 FG% 40 PTS | 67 FG% 38 PTS | 50 FG% 35 PTS | 64 FG% 36 PTS | 68 FG% 38 PTS | 59 FG% 45 PTS | 60 FG% pic.twitter.com/LjNqZAxnpB

For what it’s worth, there’s never been another player at the small forward position who has ever even come