Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 13.
Somewhat surprisingly, this marks the first time DeRozan has taken home the honor, despite winning Player of the Month in April. He joins Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, Kyle Lowry, Jalen Rose, “The Amityville Scorer” Mike James, and Lou Williams as Raptors to win the award
DeRozan was a house afire all week, averaging 24 points, five rebounds, 3.8 assists, and one steal in helping lead the Raptors to a perfect 4-0 record. He shot 51.7 percent from the floor and, more notably, 91.9 percent on 9.3 free-throw attempts per-game. He led the team in scoring in each of the last three games, getting to the line a total of 34 times. Per the Raptors’ media department, DeRozan also tied a career high by dropping 25-plus in three consecutive games, a streak he’ll look to extend Monday against Paul George and the Indiana Pacers.
It’s also worth factoring in that the Raptors were without DeMarre Carroll all week, meaning DeRozan was sharing perimeter-stopper duties with Terrence Ross. Part of the allure of adding Carroll was to allow DeRozan to stick to shooting guards instead of small forwards on the defensive end, or to take the lesser wing scorer to help conserve his energy for his substantial offensive workload. Thriving despite greater defensive responsibility – even against a relatively easy schedule (San Antonio is great but the Raptors’ four opponents own a combined 34-65 record) – is impressive and encouraging.
DeRozan was nominated for Player of the Month in November alongside Lowry, though his case wasn’t as strong as his point guard’s. Both are strong All-Star candidates for 2015-16 with the game in Toronto this year, and it’s possible that with the Raptors’ thriving, both get in. In each of the last two years, only one got in, with the backcourt duo perhaps cannibalizing each other’s votes.
It’s impossible to argue against Lowry this year, but DeRozan has a decent case, too. In 25 games, DeRozan is averaging 21.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and a career-high 4.1 assists. His shooting efficiency remains below-average – he’s at 43.6 percent from the floor, 37.6 percent on all jump shots, and 20.6 percent on threes – but he’s taking a career-high 8.4 free-throw attempts per game to help boost his overall efficiency. If you care for the stat, he’s posting a career-best 20.4 player efficiency rating right now and his 53.9 true shooting percentage is above league average for the first time since his rookie season. His assist rate is also at a career-high without a resultant rise in turnovers, and all of these efficiency gains have come without a decrease in usage rate.
DeRozan ranks 13th in the NBA in scoring average, one spot ahead of Lowry, and sixth in adjusted scoring efficiency on drives, per data from Nylon Calculus. Those drives – he’s drove more than anyone else but Reggie Jackson – result in a 57.4-percent field-goal percentage, passes 33.2 percent of the time, and turnovers just 5.5 percent of the time. For everything that gets said about the team’s isolation-heavy offense and his penchant for difficult mid-range shots, few in the league can drive to the rim like DeRozan. It’s little surprise, then, that he ranks third in the NBA in free-throw attempts per-game and fourth in freebies per-possession. (He ranked 31st and sixth in adjusted drive scoring efficiency the last two years, too.)
He’s also playing 36.2 minutes a night and ranks fourth in the NBA in total minutes played, something that’s probably not in the best long-term interests of the team but speaks to his value so far. The Raptors are 3.4 points per-100 possessions worse with him on the floor than off (ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus grades him as roughly neutral), which doesn’t suggest he’s been bad but does point to somewhat of an inability to carry the second unit without Lowry by his side. That’s a fair criticism and something it’d be nice to see DeRozan do better with, but don’t let that confuse how good he’s been, even if the presence of Lowry (and Carroll, when healthy) help.
All told, DeRozan’s 2015-16 performance so far is right there with his 2013-14 All-Star season, one that can safely be called the best of his career to date.
