I present you with facts:
The second options on the majority of the past few championship teams have been guys that excel from the mid-range area as well as at getting to the free throw line. In fact the only championship team since 2000 that didn't have such a player as its second option was the 2006 Miami Heat (Wade was the 1st option). Here's the list:
- Wade and Bosh on the 2012 and 2013 Heat
- Jason Terry with the 2011 Mavs (while known more for 3PT shooting, actually shot most of his shots from between 10ft and the 3)
- Pau Gasol with the 2009 and 2010 Lakers
- Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Celtics
- Tony Parker with the 2003, 2005 and 2007 Spurs (very similar to DeRozan in that 36% of his shots came from 16-23, ie. long twos, compared to 39%)
- Rip Hamilton with the 2004 Pistons
- Kobe with the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Lakers
So that is 13 of the last 14 champions (93%).
If I wanted I could go back further I suppose
- Pippen and Horace Grant with the Bulls
- Clyde Drexler with the 1995 Rockets
- Joe Dumars with the Bad Boy Pistons
- James Worthy with the Showtime Lakers
etc, etc, etc.
So basically every single championship team has had a guy who is very good from mid-range as a second option. Not saying it's absolutely necessary (though history would suggest it is), but what it does show is that it is possible and can actually be a healthy part of a championship formula. Even more interesting is that the bulk of those guys I listed (except Terry and I suppose Bosh of course) couldn't shoot the 3 worth a damn. Just gonna look at the 2000s era guys because I'm being lazy.
Kobe - 29.4% in 3 years during Lakers 3-Peat
Rip - 26.5%
Parker - 32.0% combined in 2003, 2005, 2007 title runs; only made about one 3 every other game.
KG - 0%
Gasol - 14.3% (1-7) during back-to-back titles
Wade - 26.2% during back-to-back titles
Another thing that's consistent between these guys is high free-throw draw rates. (DeRozan for reference was at 0.448)
Kobe - 0.361
Rip - 0.293
Parker - 0.295
Garnett - 0.339
Gasol - 0.425
Wade - 0.372
Where DeRozan needs to step up is in terms of efficiency, although I think that would increase as a by-product of being a second option. But just for reference here are their TS% (DeMar 53.2%)
Kobe - 54.7%
Rip - 52.2%
Parker - 54.7%
Garnett - 58.8%
Gasol - 60.5%
Wade - 56.5%
Additionally, some of these guys (except Garnett and Kobe) were just known as solid or ok defenders at the time. None of them were stoppers, and frequently had their fellow wing/backcourt mate assigned to guard the other team's best wing scorer (Tayshaun for Rip, LeBron/Battier for Wade, etc).
But yeah we can't win a title with DeRozan.
The second options on the majority of the past few championship teams have been guys that excel from the mid-range area as well as at getting to the free throw line. In fact the only championship team since 2000 that didn't have such a player as its second option was the 2006 Miami Heat (Wade was the 1st option). Here's the list:
- Wade and Bosh on the 2012 and 2013 Heat
- Jason Terry with the 2011 Mavs (while known more for 3PT shooting, actually shot most of his shots from between 10ft and the 3)
- Pau Gasol with the 2009 and 2010 Lakers
- Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Celtics
- Tony Parker with the 2003, 2005 and 2007 Spurs (very similar to DeRozan in that 36% of his shots came from 16-23, ie. long twos, compared to 39%)
- Rip Hamilton with the 2004 Pistons
- Kobe with the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Lakers
So that is 13 of the last 14 champions (93%).
If I wanted I could go back further I suppose
- Pippen and Horace Grant with the Bulls
- Clyde Drexler with the 1995 Rockets
- Joe Dumars with the Bad Boy Pistons
- James Worthy with the Showtime Lakers
etc, etc, etc.
So basically every single championship team has had a guy who is very good from mid-range as a second option. Not saying it's absolutely necessary (though history would suggest it is), but what it does show is that it is possible and can actually be a healthy part of a championship formula. Even more interesting is that the bulk of those guys I listed (except Terry and I suppose Bosh of course) couldn't shoot the 3 worth a damn. Just gonna look at the 2000s era guys because I'm being lazy.
Kobe - 29.4% in 3 years during Lakers 3-Peat
Rip - 26.5%
Parker - 32.0% combined in 2003, 2005, 2007 title runs; only made about one 3 every other game.
KG - 0%
Gasol - 14.3% (1-7) during back-to-back titles
Wade - 26.2% during back-to-back titles
Another thing that's consistent between these guys is high free-throw draw rates. (DeRozan for reference was at 0.448)
Kobe - 0.361
Rip - 0.293
Parker - 0.295
Garnett - 0.339
Gasol - 0.425
Wade - 0.372
Where DeRozan needs to step up is in terms of efficiency, although I think that would increase as a by-product of being a second option. But just for reference here are their TS% (DeMar 53.2%)
Kobe - 54.7%
Rip - 52.2%
Parker - 54.7%
Garnett - 58.8%
Gasol - 60.5%
Wade - 56.5%
Additionally, some of these guys (except Garnett and Kobe) were just known as solid or ok defenders at the time. None of them were stoppers, and frequently had their fellow wing/backcourt mate assigned to guard the other team's best wing scorer (Tayshaun for Rip, LeBron/Battier for Wade, etc).
But yeah we can't win a title with DeRozan.
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