# The Rise of DeMar DeRozan



## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

After a couple of stand out performances, people around the L are really starting to take notice of DeMar. 

Kenny Smith was talking about how he has improved 'immensely', and that he and Rudy are one of the best wing punches in the league. Kenny Smith never says anything nice about us, so I was taken aback. 

And while watching the 76ers game, the opposing teams announcers compared DeMar to Ray Allen. Never did I think I would see the day when DeMar was being heralded for his shot. 

The kid deserves so much credit, he has worked so hard on his game and has continually improved every year. He is still just 24 and locked up on a reasonable contract ($9.5m flat for the next 4 seasons). 

Stats: 21.6 ppg, 3.2 rbg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg with 3.2 tpg (which is down from 3.9 tpg last year). His PER is up to 17.00.

His FG % has taken a slight hit due to an early slump, but we have 4 years of history showing he is better in this area, however he is shooting 2x more three pointers. The real improvement has come from behind the arc with him shooting .381% up nearly .100%. 

So where does he fall in terms of best SGs in the league?


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

He's taking more shots per game than last season. It's virtually the only difference. His 3p% usually declines as the season goes on. I think he's about the same guy he has been for the last three seasons.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

speedythief said:


> He's taking more shots per game than last season. It's virtually the only difference. His 3p% usually declines as the season goes on. I think he's about the same guy he has been for the last three seasons.


In DeMar's sophmore year he shot .096% from 3pt land. 

He was always good at driving to the hoop, so the fact he has worked so hard to improve his 3p% is huge to the improvement of his game.

And those 'extra' shots he is chucking up has moved him to the 15th best PPG scorer in the league.


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## LeGoat06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Just picked him up on my fantasy team


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

LeGoat06 said:


> Just picked him up on my fantasy team


What kind of horribly shallow league are you in that would allow DeMar to be a waiver pick up?


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## LeGoat06 (Jun 24, 2013)

Porn Player said:


> What kind of horribly shallow league are you in that would allow DeMar to be a waiver pick up?


Only 8 teams this year and it's a points league. PFs/Cs are always used as the utitity players guards don't have as much value. Had 2 people drop out right before draft we usually have 10 or 12 players each year. It's not nearly as much fun this year


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Porn Player said:


> In DeMar's sophmore year he shot .096% from 3pt land.
> 
> He was always good at driving to the hoop, so the fact he has worked so hard to improve his 3p% is huge to the improvement of his game.
> 
> And those 'extra' shots he is chucking up has moved him to the 15th best PPG scorer in the league.


When he goes from 15 to 18.5 shots per game, that's more volume. When you talk about him going from 1.21 points per shot last season to 1.17 this season, you see he's not improving his efficiency, he's just shooting more. His other stats (rebounding, assists, steals) are close to his typical output. Any player in the league will improve their PPG given the green light to take 3.5 shots per game more--it's a lot better to improve your efficiency with an increased offensive load which isn't what's happening (yet, at least).

I'm not sure if it was last season or the year before where he dedicated himself to improving his three point shot and it happened but it slid down to under 30% both of those years. I'm not rooting for that to happen but I'm weary of judging that skill as one that is definitely improved only a dozen games into the season.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

To put it into a different context, DeRozan's shots-per-game (7th overall) translates poorly to his points per game (14th overall).

Gay (3rd/24th), Irving (4th/13th), Beal (5th/18th), and Westbrook (6th/15th) are the company DeRozan is keeping. For him to be a top offensive option in this league he needs to balance it out.

He's close.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

speedythief said:


> To put it into a different context, DeRozan's shots-per-game (7th overall) translates poorly to his points per game (14th overall).
> 
> Gay (3rd/24th), Irving (4th/13th), Beal (5th/18th), and Westbrook (6th/15th) are the company DeRozan is keeping. For him to be a top offensive option in this league he needs to balance it out.
> 
> He's close.


Aside from Gay, who looking at your posted numbers is the worse of the bunch, those are likely to be some of the top offensive options for many a year to come in the NBA. Certainly not bad company to be keeping.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

speedythief said:


> When he goes from 15 to 18.5 shots per game, that's more volume. When you talk about him going from 1.21 points per shot last season to 1.17 this season, you see he's not improving his efficiency, he's just shooting more. His other stats (rebounding, assists, steals) are close to his typical output. Any player in the league will improve their PPG given the green light to take 3.5 shots per game more--it's a lot better to improve your efficiency with an increased offensive load which isn't what's happening (yet, at least).


And I already mentioned this



> His FG % has taken a slight hit due to an early slump, but we have 4 years of history showing he is better in this area, however he is shooting 2x more three pointers. The real improvement has come from behind the arc with him shooting .381% up nearly .100%


We know DeMar is effective in driving to the hoop, he just had a 5-6 game stretch to open the season that really hurt his 2g%, we all can rightfully fully expect that to bump up and his TS% to be the best of all time this year, if he can continue to hit the 3 ball.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I think he's in that group of guys right underneath the first tier of Harden/Kobe/Wade. Beal and Monta Ellis are clearly better than DeRozan right now but after that you can at least make a case for DeRozan against any shooting guard.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Ellis is above DeRozan? 

And how big is that first tier?


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I would take Monta Ellis over DeRozan. Neither of them excel at doing anything other than scoring and Ellis does a better job at it than DeRozan.

The first tier consists of 3 players. Harden, Kobe, and Wade with the assumption that he can still turn it on when needed.

After those 3 you have a bunch of guys that are slightly better or worse than DeRozan. Beal and Ellis are definitely better but the rest of the guys like Eric Gordon, Affalo, Klay Thompson, Mayo, and Gordon Hayward are all quite comparable.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

DeRozan is killing it tonight. He is also a much better defensive player than Ellis.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

DeRozan up to 10th in the NBA for PPG at 21.9 on 43.5% FG and shooting 38.6% from 3 point land.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

seifer0406 said:


> I would take Monta Ellis over DeRozan. Neither of them excel at doing anything other than scoring and Ellis does a better job at it than DeRozan.
> 
> The first tier consists of 3 players. Harden, Kobe, and Wade with the assumption that he can still turn it on when needed.
> 
> After those 3 you have a bunch of guys that are slightly better or worse than DeRozan. Beal and Ellis are definitely better but the rest of the guys like Eric Gordon, Affalo, Klay Thompson, Mayo, and Gordon Hayward are all quite comparable.


Ellis is 4 years older than Derozan. There is no way I would take him over DeMar. 

And its funny to see guys who talk about efficiency prop up Beal, who is not only shooting at a worse clip, but has also only been playing at this level for 13 games.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

I like that R-Star loves DeRozan. It is amazing what fantasy basketball can do for all league knowledge..


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

Isn't DeRozan the NBA's leading scorer since mid-November? That's impressive. I think he's averaging about 28 PPG during that stretch.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I think this is a right now comparison. I would take Monta Ellis over DeRozan right now. I guess it's a bit too early for Beal but from what I've seen out of Beal he's clearly a better all around player than DeRozan.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

What is Beal doing so much better than DeRozan?


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

As a pure scorer DeRozan will be one of the top 2 guards in the league in the coming years. Hes also a decent defender compared to the Hardens of the world who "try so hard on offense, they don't have the energy to play D" bullshit. 

Outside of that though DeRozan is lacking. Hes not going to get a ton of rebounds or assists. He isn't going to fill up a stat sheet, but he will get you points, and he'll defend with vigor on the other end. For a 2 guard, that's good enough for me.


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## BobStackhouse42 (Oct 7, 2010)

He's a rich man's Afflalo.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

After 22 games, he is still at 21.4ppg, which is good for the 11th best pure scorer in the league. 

His % stats are very similar to both Carmelo and Harden. Not a bad start to the season for our growing superstar.


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## BobStackhouse42 (Oct 7, 2010)

He'll be better without Gay.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

BobStackhouse42 said:


> He'll be better without Gay.


His passing has certainly impressed with no Gay around, which is really encouraging.


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## BobStackhouse42 (Oct 7, 2010)

Once Lowry is traded this will be a really fun young team to watch.


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## ozzzymandius (Jun 9, 2003)

I'd actually hold off on the Lowry trade for now. Considering we had a chemistry problem and now we've made a trade and seemingly got better overnight, I'm thinking we see what we've got now over the next few games as we're already performing better than expected then decide on next steps. Waiting two weeks isn't going to hurt us much but will get us a clearer picture.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

The love continues...



@NBARUMORS said:


> James Harden: "My brother @DeMar_DeRozan better be a All-Star this year!! He is out here hoopin!!!!!!!"


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Porn Player said:


> After 22 games, he is still at 21.4ppg, which is good for the 11th best pure scorer in the league.
> 
> His % stats are very similar to both Carmelo and Harden. Not a bad start to the season for our growing superstar.


After 35 games:-

21.3ppg, 4.4rbg, 3.6apg and 1.2spg. He gets to the line nearly 7 times a game.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I was wrong about him. He's proving to be a lot more consistent this year than I expected.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

seifer0406 said:


> I was wrong about him. He's proving to be a lot more consistent this year than I expected.


These are my favourite posts. What a nice thing to see, an authentic fan being proved wrong by a player (in a good way). We haven't been able to enjoy enough of this stuff over the years.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

I predicted his 3P% would tank and it has. He's now under 29%, pretty much exactly where he's been for the last two seasons with no sign of improvement. It doesn't look like something that will ever be a strong part of his game but I hope I'm wrong.

On the positive side he's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, free throws, and minutes. He's playing well and earning his $10-million. There seems to be a decent chance either him or Lowry get into the ASG. Both would be great but I imagine they're going to be fighting for the same spot.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

BobStackhouse42 said:


> He's a rich man's Afflalo.


Perhaps a little unfair to Afflalo who is having about as good a season as DeRozan. Each player has certain things they do better than the other.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

speedythief said:


> Perhaps a little unfair to Afflalo who is having about as good a season as DeRozan. Each player has certain things they do better than the other.


AA is having himself a hell of a season. I think Bob might have meant the fact that DeMar is 4 years younger and probably shown more potential at this level to really push on and be a top tier star.


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## Porn Player (Apr 24, 2003)

Great stuff from NBA.com and very well deserved for our boy DeMar...



> When DeMar DeRozan rolled through the lobby of the Hyatt Regency hotel in New Orleans Thursday morning in a hoodie and sweats, fresh off of his flight from Toronto, for his first All-Star weekend experience as a player in Sunday's game, he couldn't help but smile.
> 
> It's been a long time coming for the fourth-year pro DeRozan. His first NBA impressions were made as a dunker and an athlete, but he was also a player in need of serious polish if he was ever going to be an All-Star.
> 
> ...





> No player showed up to New Orleans in better spirits than this first-time All-Star. He punctuated his pre-All-Star work with a 31-point (on 11-for-19 shooting, 2-for-3 from deep), five-rebound, three-assist effort in a win over the Atlanta Hawks. DeRozan has been the Raptors' steadiest force all season and will have to continue to serve in that capacity if Toronto is to complete its playoff quest. He's been more than up to the task thus far and has gained the full confidence of his teammates along the way, too.


http://www.nba.com/mvp-ladder/


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