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DeRozan's Jumper Evolution

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  • DeRozan's Jumper Evolution




    Sometimes the most meaningful improvements are the ones that go almost entirely unnoticed.

    In terms of league-wide recognition, DeMar DeRozan is having a moderately better campaign as a sophomore than he did as a rookie. His PER has improved by 11% and his eFG% has actually dropped from 50.2% to 47.3%. DeRozan is shooting just 9.7% from three, down from 25.0% last season. Isolating out his two-point attempts, DeRozan's percentage has dropped to 48.5% from 50.6%.

    But DeRozan has become a much better shooter on his mid-range and long mid-range jumper. He has progressively improved this season as a jump-shooter and his usage increase in this area of the floor has virtually tripled from the beginning of the season.

    He is shooting from a better clip here than high-quality scorers we associate with the mid-range jumper like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant.

    This part of his game is not elite yet by any stretch, but it gives him the opportunity to setup his athleticism to get into the paint because opposing defenders must contest that shot.

    Case in point was the very first bucket in the overtime session against the Nets on Saturday when he blew by Sasha Vujacic after the baseline catch and completed a reverse layup in traffic with his left hand.

    The ability for DeRozan to keep things incredibly simple and attempt 20-footers when the defense sags and take his man to the paint off the dribble when contested puts him in an excellent opportunity to succeed offensively.

    DeRozan also shoots the ball well when putting the ball on the floor once to get a rhythm. He is much more of a rhythm shooter than a pure shooter and the bounce visibly makes him more comfortable. Ideally, this would become an unnecessary movement but it creates automatic movement and that is a positive given DeRozan's skill-set and his effectiveness in getting into the paint from the perimeter upon the catch.

    DeRozan's length and natural elevation makes getting clean looks at the basket an easy proposition and the fact that he is now hitting them at an impressive rate is very encouraging.

    During his rookie season, DeRozan's offense was largely a byproduct of creation from other players whether it was as on the catch-and-shoot or in transition. Chris Bosh was still around and the ball was in his hands a lot and there weren't opportunities for DeRozan to use the dribble or to come off screens.

    His usage has increased from 18.1 as a rookie to 22.2 as a sophomore, not incredibly dramatic but he attempted one shot every 2.7 minutes before the All-Star break and he is now attempting one shot every 2.1 minutes. DeRozan is averaging 17.2 points per 36 minutes for the season and 21.1 points since the break, which isn't too far off from primary scorer territory.

    DeRozan has a long ways to go to be considered a primary or even secondary scorer on a good team, but he is further along than I was anticipating heading into the season and the fact that he has a clearly definable niche where he is capable of excelling should give the Raptors reason for optimism for his all important third-year season.
    http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/21...mper_Evolution

  • #2
    now only if he could develop a 3pt shot
    "Stay steamy"

    - Kobe

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    • #3
      hotfuzz wrote: View Post
      now only if he could develop a 3pt shot
      3-point shooting is vastly overrated. At least individually. And this coming from a guy who basically lives by the 3-point shot. 3 point shooting is nice, but it should be about 4th or 5th on the list in terms of priorities. Above that is ball handling, defense, passing and getting to the line more consistently.

      Remember, Michael Jordan was 31 of 189 (.164) for his first four years in the league. And Dwyane Wade has spent his entire career as a bad 3 point shooter.
      Read my blog, The Picket Fence. Guaranteed to make you think or your money back!
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      • #4
        Tim W. wrote: View Post
        3-point shooting is vastly overrated. At least individually. And this coming from a guy who basically lives by the 3-point shot. 3 point shooting is nice, but it should be about 4th or 5th on the list in terms of priorities. Above that is ball handling, defense, passing and getting to the line more consistently.

        Remember, Michael Jordan was 31 of 189 (.164) for his first four years in the league. And Dwyane Wade has spent his entire career as a bad 3 point shooter.
        D wade is 30% from Downtown Miami this season, that ain't bad. And 3 point shooting is not overrated its a great thing but you just can't rely on it too much. It would be great if Derozan can develop a 3 pointer it would help us alot in the future especially when in late game situations when we're down by 3 or something.

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        • #5
          Tim W. wrote: View Post
          3-point shooting is vastly overrated. At least individually. And this coming from a guy who basically lives by the 3-point shot. 3 point shooting is nice, but it should be about 4th or 5th on the list in terms of priorities. Above that is ball handling, defense, passing and getting to the line more consistently.

          Remember, Michael Jordan was 31 of 189 (.164) for his first four years in the league. And Dwyane Wade has spent his entire career as a bad 3 point shooter.
          Never said 3pt shot is the most important thing. I just meant it would be since the raptors literally have no 3 point threat except bargs. It would just make him more deadlier.
          "Stay steamy"

          - Kobe

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          • #6
            I wanna see him improve his dribble, pump-fakes, crossovers, finger rolls, and hell, even his fade-away jumper before he begins to improve on his 3 pt shot.

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            • #7
              i agree because if his range comes too soon then he will be tempted to settle fo shots and may not develop the other skills (like j-rich, jr smith and many other athletes who can shoot but can't slash).

              To tim's point, a 3 point threat means you don't have to be as good at the other offensive skills to be just as effective.

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              • #8
                Derozan's improvement has been incredible, in my opinion. I see no reason to rush anything as a result. His ball handling is definitely what needs to come next in terms of expanding his offense. He could probably gain 5-10 pounds, which would also be beneficial for his drives and post-ups. Then defense. 3 point shot can wait. There are other positions - notably the 1 and the 3, that would be better served right now to become better shooters from distance.

                Given he was drafted as a project, and it was always known that that's what he was, there's no need to force upon him drastic changes for the sake of making the team right now marginally better, simply because we've seen such improvement. I don't see why he can't, given his dedication and the way he carries himself, become excellent at any part of the game down the line.

                This includes defense. But first things first. Get him comfortable as a primary scorer. That's the role of the SG. Once he's got his offensive foundations about where they need to be, I would think then would be the best time for him to place his primary focus on defense. But this is a long-term investment. Keep the good things we're seeing flowing.

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                • #9
                  we need a dorell wright type SF. And scoring/passing PG who doesn't score too much but doesn't pass too much either.

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                  • #10
                    Raptors_ wrote: View Post
                    And scoring/passing PG who doesn't score too much but doesn't pass too much either.
                    i mean no offense man... but that sounds like saying "we need somebody who's really good at this job to come here and not do it"

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                    • #11
                      heinz57 wrote: View Post
                      i mean no offense man... but that sounds like saying "we need somebody who's really good at this job to come here and not do it"
                      what i mean't is, we don't want another jerryd bayless and we don't want another Calderon. We want someone in between who can involve his teammates but also score when needed.

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                      • #12
                        He needs to improve on all aspects of his game really. But the 3 should be further down the list. Top priority should be defense, ball handling, finishing in traffic, and finding the open man. Now that open man is someone you'd probably want to be able to knock down the 3. But I'm loving the vast improvement on his mid-range game.

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                        • #13
                          Raptors_ wrote: View Post
                          D wade is 30% from Downtown Miami this season, that ain't bad. And 3 point shooting is not overrated its a great thing but you just can't rely on it too much. It would be great if Derozan can develop a 3 pointer it would help us alot in the future especially when in late game situations when we're down by 3 or something.
                          I'm not saying 3 point shooting isn't important, but it's not necessary to become a great SG.
                          Read my blog, The Picket Fence. Guaranteed to make you think or your money back!
                          Follow me on Twitter.

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                          • #14
                            Tim W. wrote: View Post
                            I'm not saying 3 point shooting isn't important, but it's not necessary to become a great SG.
                            It helps alot though. I see demar slowy starting to take farther jumpers and he hit a 3 in London.

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                            • #15
                              Imo for DD,

                              Hitting mid-range jumpers consistently (check now)..... 50% complete
                              Hitting 3 point jumpers consistently(at least 40%)...... 75% complete
                              Have solid post moves to exploit mismatch on opposting teams' smaller basketball players and playing solid and smart perimeter defense....... 100% complete

                              Improved ball handling skills......... All-star quality
                              Setting solid screens on a guard to free a big man teammate to shoot a jumper in a high pick and roll situation, passing and rebounding............. Superstar quality

                              Now, that is the evolution of a guard in DD's situation to be good. "Nuff said .
                              Last edited by smushmush; Fri Mar 11, 2011, 07:52 AM.

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