Reflecting on the rise of the Toronto Raptors in 2013-14 perhaps the player who best paralleled the record breaking season is DeMar DeRozan.
Having spent his entire NBA career as a Raptor, DeRozan suffered through four-losing seasons, the loss of their franchise player (Bosh) and annual trips to the lottery. From the onset, what stood out was DeRozan’s dedication to improvement. Late night trips to the practice gym and a laser focus in the off-season resulted in his constant progress. In addition, his relationship with co-captain: Kyle Lowry on and off the court seemed to catapult the teams’ cohesiveness which resulted in a myriad of records set by the franchise and DeRozan personally.
2013-14 Accomplishments:
Regular Season:
- Career best point per game average: 22.7PPG,* up 4.6PPG
- PPG – Ranked 9th in NBA
- Career best free throw attempts per game: 8 FTAPG, *+2.8 attempts
- FTA – Ranked 7th in NBA
- Increased assists per game from *2.4 to 4.0
- Career highs in rebounds, assists, steals, 3-Pt shots made and minutes played
*over previous season
Post Season:
- First appearance in playoffs
- Free throw attempts: Ranked 1st – 11.3PG (Howard 2nd: 10.7)
- Free throws made: Ranked 1st – 10.1PG (Westbrook 2nd: 7.6)
- Points per game: Ranked 7th – 23.9PPG
- Led team in scoring – most points in 4 of 7 games
- Led team with most free throw attempts in 6 of 7 games
Personal:
- First selection to NBA All Star Team
- First time selection to Team USA who won Gold Medal at FIBA World Championship
Strengths:
While the natural assumption would be to attribute DeRozan’s offensive improvements to increased touches following Rudy Gay’s departure, it simply isn’t the case. In fact, his field goal attempts decreased while his scoring and free throw attempts went up. This progression had more to do with added bench depth, better ball movement and DeRozan’s commitment to playing aggressive.
Team depth is important on every squad due to injuries, and in this regard DeRozan is the Raptors’ Iron Man. In 5-seasons he has only missed 11-games (five in his rookie season). Considering the effect an injury to super stars like Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Paul George can have on their respective team his durability cannot be over looked.
Another key factor is the chemistry between DeRozan and Lowry. While Lowry is demonstrative, DeRozan leads by quiet example which results in them guiding arguably the most unified group in the NBA. A look at the top backcourts in the Association shows this tandem ranking first or second in all key categories.
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Areas to improve:
DeRozan is a gym rat who is constantly working to expand and enhance his game. Each October it is a veritable certainty he’ll return to camp with a new tool in his repertoire. Given the advancements he made on his offense this past season its likely this summer was spent with greater emphasis on the intangibles he can add to help improve team performance. Specifically ball handling and passing are areas requiring upgrades and as we learned in the playoffs will be key in late game situations.
At the season ending press conference there were reports Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson were scheduled to spend time with big man Hakeem Olajuwon to work on their post game. The pleasant surprise was learning DeRozan was included in this group.
Now that DeRozan has tasted the post season he knows defense is the major area of his game where the greatest strides can be made. Given DeRozan is a natural athlete it’s puzzling he hasn’t witnessed similar growth on the defensive end. Perhaps this is partially due to the offensive load he’s carried or the lure to improve the sexier offensive skills. Continuity is important for defensive schemes, so as the core group enters their third year together the results should mirror their comfort with the system.
2014-15 Outlook:
Though DeRozan saw little playing time on the US team, when he was on court his passes were crisp and his decision making was quick and decisive. Look for DeRozan to take the lessons learned from being on a winning squad and pass them on to the Raptor youth.
To that end, having reached the upper echelon this past season DeRozan now finds himself at the next stage of his career. His growth will now be measured on maintaining his 2013-14 output, improving defensively and through his ability to improve those around him.
After a magical season don’t expect DeRozan to be satisfied with simply getting to the playoffs or making an All Star Team. He may be the quiet yin to Lowry’s loud yang, but both players have the same goal: taking the Raptors deeper in the playoffs!
