5. Over/Under: 20 points per game for DeMar DeRozan next season.
Maurice Brooks, ESPN.com: Over. His points per game average more than doubled last season (8.6 to 17.2) and there is still plenty of room for improvement in his game. The Raptors are one of the youngest teams in the league and are going through growing pains. The offensive-minded DeRozan is a nice piece of the rebuilding puzzle.
Chad Ford, ESPN.com: Push. 20 ppg sounds about right for DeRozan. They will be largely empty points, mind you, but I don't see anyone else coming in and taking up the scoring slack in Toronto.
Brendan Jackson, Celtics Hub: Over ... at least he better if the Raps hope to win more than 22 games. Aside from Andrea Bargnani, DeRozan is the most offensively gifted player on that roster. The hiring of a defensive coach in Dwane Casey coupled with the Raptors' better role players being defensive dirt dogs means that someone on that team is going to have to put the ball in the bucket.
John Kenney, KnickerBlogger: Over. DeMar takes the old adage "you have to shoot to score" very seriously. The progression in his ability combined with an increased number of shots should put him over the 20 ppg threshold easily.
Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Over. DeRozan's shooting percentage from 10-15 feet leapt from 31 percent in his rookie season to a much more palatable 46 percent last season, and he should continue to improve. It won't translate into wins, but the Raptors should get a majority of their first-string points from Andrea Bargnani and a developing DeRozan.
Maurice Brooks, ESPN.com: Over. His points per game average more than doubled last season (8.6 to 17.2) and there is still plenty of room for improvement in his game. The Raptors are one of the youngest teams in the league and are going through growing pains. The offensive-minded DeRozan is a nice piece of the rebuilding puzzle.
Chad Ford, ESPN.com: Push. 20 ppg sounds about right for DeRozan. They will be largely empty points, mind you, but I don't see anyone else coming in and taking up the scoring slack in Toronto.
Brendan Jackson, Celtics Hub: Over ... at least he better if the Raps hope to win more than 22 games. Aside from Andrea Bargnani, DeRozan is the most offensively gifted player on that roster. The hiring of a defensive coach in Dwane Casey coupled with the Raptors' better role players being defensive dirt dogs means that someone on that team is going to have to put the ball in the bucket.
John Kenney, KnickerBlogger: Over. DeMar takes the old adage "you have to shoot to score" very seriously. The progression in his ability combined with an increased number of shots should put him over the 20 ppg threshold easily.
Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: Over. DeRozan's shooting percentage from 10-15 feet leapt from 31 percent in his rookie season to a much more palatable 46 percent last season, and he should continue to improve. It won't translate into wins, but the Raptors should get a majority of their first-string points from Andrea Bargnani and a developing DeRozan.
Comment