Tim W. wrote:
To the shotblocking and steals issue, I don't entirely agree. Just because you consistently get steals or blocks doesn't make you a good defensive player. You can be a bad defensive player and still get blocks and steals. My favourite example is when Michael Williams lead the league in steals when he was with Minnesota (back in the last century). He was a horrible defender who gambled far too much and was often out of position on defense. Same goes for a lot of shotblockers. They want to block a shot so badly they will often be out of position, be faked out too easily, etc. Think of JaVale McGee in the last Washington game. He blocked 4 shots against the Raptors, but otherwise played horrible defense.
Blocks and steals are just like scoring. Scoring, unto itself, is great, because you need to score to win, but just scoring 20 points isn't good enough. You need to know HOW you scored those 20 points. Were they forced? Were they within the offense? Was it efficient? Mike James averaged 20 ppg his last year with the Raptors, but how valuable were those 20 ppg?
As for DeRozan, I think the vast majority of people are pleased with his progress, which can be evidenced by the comments on this thread. That's one of the highlights many people point to in this season. DeRozan and Davis' progression. As I pointed out earlier, this thread was basically a reactionary one because Multipaul was getting upset with all the Bargnani bashing, so he attacked someone he knows is well liked by the fans.