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Chisholm: Debunking the idea of DeRozan struggling
Source: Tim Chisholm, TSN.ca
1st two and last paragraph. The middle part must have had a word count minimum for the editors at TSN.
There has been a lot of humming and hawing over the first week of the NBA season over DeMar DeRozan's supposedly ineffectual game. His production in the first three quarters of games against Cleveland and Indiana stood out, as did his meager 11-point outing in a loss to Dallas. DeRozan finally had a game breakout against the turnstile defense offered by New York on Monday, but overall fans are turning up their nose at his production early in the season.
Looking at his numbers from last year, though, DeRozan is averaging the same 17.2 ppg, the same 3.8 rpg, the same 1.0 spg and is shooting an improved .470 from the floor and a wildly improved .626 from three-point range. So why, then, are so many so frustrated with his production early this season?
Looking at his numbers from last year, though, DeRozan is averaging the same 17.2 ppg, the same 3.8 rpg, the same 1.0 spg and is shooting an improved .470 from the floor and a wildly improved .626 from three-point range. So why, then, are so many so frustrated with his production early this season?
The good news is that DeRozan, through five "disappointing" games is holding his production up to last season's output, while significantly improving upon one of his greatest weaknesses (three-point shooting). He hasn't taken a step back; he just hasn't leapt forward yet, either. He's not a guy you can effectively evaluate yet in small sample sizes (the same goes for the struggling Ed Davis, by the way), he's a guy you take a look at at season's end and track the overall progress of his game from Year 2 to Year 3. Remember, this is a developmental year for the club, a chance for Casey to push his young troops to improve with teaching, playing time and discipline. Individual improvements will be gradual and need to be taken in over a long period of time. Don't fret week-long or even month-long slumps. Save your worry for the end of the year when a guy has shown no improvement from game one to game sixty-six. Or, more optimistically, wait until the end of the season to see how far the players have come from where they started out in late December.
Source: Tim Chisholm, TSN.ca
1st two and last paragraph. The middle part must have had a word count minimum for the editors at TSN.
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