DeMar DeRozan Keeps Getting Better, Even Without a 3-Point Shot | VICE Sports
From a longer-term perspective, it’s not as if how DeRozan is going about leading the league in scoring is terribly out of character. The degree to which he’s doing so—of course averaging 36.3 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting isn’t sustainable—is surprising, but the means of production are what those watching closely have come to expect from the two-time all-star. He may grade out as a below-average 3-point shooter by accuracy and by volume, but the numbers no longer suggest DeRozan is what his critics accuse.
Long established as a premier volume scorer, the larger narrative around DeRozan has been slow to catch up to his evolving game. While it’s true that DeRozan is one of, if not the most prolific mid-range scorer in all of basketball, writing his offense off as a relic of a bygone of play is a gross oversimplification. You could even argue it’s a defensible “zag” as modern defenses “zig” to encourage less efficient two-point shots, if he continues to do as good a job as he’s done making sure those looks are clean. He also led the league in points scored off of drives last season, setting a team record for trips to the free-throw line, and if there’s anything that’s going to balance out a two-heavy approach, it’s getting to the rim and to the charity stripe.
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NBA Market Share Report: Don’t Forget DeMar DeRozan – numberFire
When it comes to hot starts to the season, you’re likely to hear names such as Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden — and for good reason. But leaving DeMar DeRozan off that list would be unfair.
As if his 36 points per game on 55 percent shooting isn’t impressive enough, diving a tad deeper into DeRozan’s offensive numbers through four games can become even more remarkable. His 0.556 points per touch ranks first in the league amongst those averaging at least 20 minutes per game, and that number becomes even more compelling when you take into account his 65 touches per game, which is 11th-most amongst non-point guards.
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Raptors rookie Poeltl way ahead of schedule | Toronto Sun
It was Poeltl’s soft hands and quick feet that endeared him to Toronto’s scouting staff, which is led by Dan Tolzman. The NCAA’s top centre in 2016 was seen as a safe pick, but one who probably wouldn’t wow anyone. A consistent, productive contributor at both ends of the floor.
And that’s fine with the Raptors. Five games in, only Dwight Howard, ex-Raptors backup Bismack Biyombo, Greg Monroe and Dewayne Dedmon grab more available offensive rebounds than Poeltl (Valanciunas ranks 21st in the category) and he is 17th in total rebound percentage (Valanciunas is 14th). Poeltl has also been one of the most effective Raptors stats-wise when he has been on the court, with the team outscoring opponents by an average of 9.8 points while he plays, which trails only Norm Powell (in limited minutes) and Patrick Patterson.
“How hard he plays, his physicality, how big his hands are once he gets the ball on his hands, his IQ is definitely there and the more experience he gets, the better he is going to be,” DeMar DeRozan said in praise of the rookie.
“He’s got that toughness when he’s out there playing, it’s great. That resilience and (he’s) willing to learn.”
And he is already taking pride in his role.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of responsibility as a second unit to come in, bring that energy,” Poeltl said.
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Raptors 905 natural fit for trailblazer Nicki Gross | Toronto Star
Without any grand plan to make a bigger statement to the basketball world, the Raptors and their Mississauga-based D-League team have become standard-bearers for inclusion. Gross is joined by Shelby Weaver, 905’s manager of basketball operations. They’re the only two women in the league in hands-on basketball roles. It was not done intentionally, but it’s a statement nonetheless.
“They’re really good at what they do, and I think Shelby proved last year that all the day-to-day type stuff, she could completely manage it and operate it, and she’s made my life so much easier,” said Dan Tolzman, Toronto’s director of scouting who doubles as 905 general manager. “Her knowledge of the game . . . is as good as anybody’s.”
Gross and Stackhouse will get their first look at the team in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when Raptors 905 plays its lone home pre-season game against the Erie BayHawks. The regular season begins in Mississauga on Nov. 18 against Greensboro.
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Former Raptor James Johnson likes his new fit with Miami Heat – The Globe and Mail
Johnson, who has also played for Chicago, Sacramento and Memphis, is in his eighth NBA season. He said he had mixed feelings about leaving Toronto, and had enjoyed the city and being part of the team’s best-ever playoff run. He was asked if he did everything he could as a player in Toronto.
“Yeah, everything I was in control of doing,” Johnson said. “I can only control what I can control and I felt like I tried to do that as best as possible.”
Raptors star guard DeMar DeRozan had glowing things to say about the player he used to face daily in practice.
“I give a lot of credit to James,” DeRozan said. “I never talk about it, but in practices, training camp, he always guarded me and you’ve got to be real creative and real crafty to be able to get shots off against him. I kind of, I wouldn’t say mastered it against him, but I thought I did all right against him. It’s hard to find guys that big, that athletic to do the things he’s able to do, and it helped me a lot.”
DeRozan was asked if he thinks Johnson is misunderstood.
“For sure. Without a doubt. 100 per cent,” DeRozan replied. “I think if people really knew him and really understood the type of person – he’s loyal, loving. Everything about JJ is great. He jokes all day. It’s just people think because he’s a black belt, he crazy.”
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Game Preview: Raptors vs. Kings | Toronto Raptors
DeRozan shrugging off praise, ready to keep working
It’s becoming more and more difficult to dismiss the way DeMar DeRozan has started this season. Usually when a team or player gets off to a hot start, we caution to be patient because, “it’s early.” Yes, it is indeed still early with only five games played by the Raptors, but when a player accomplishes things that were last done before he was born, the early disclaimer can be dismissed.
With DeRozan’s fifth straight 30-point performance on Friday, he became the first player to start a season with five consecutive games of 30+ points since Michael Jordan in 1986. The 27-year-old Raptors guard was born in 1989. When told about the latest accomplishment, DeRozan refused to acknowledge it, shrugging off the stat, saying he didn’t believe it.
Through seven years in Toronto, DeRozan has almost always allowed his game to do the talking for him. Although he doesn’t talk a lot about outside perception and criticism of his game, he certainly hears about and remembers them.
“Me personally, I always find motivation in every single thing,” DeRozan said. “I thrive off challenges, that’s just how I was raised. That’s the environment I grew up in. You show me something, I’m going to be rebellious and go against your opinion.”
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Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors: Sunday preview | Toronto Star
KEY MATCHUP
Cousins vs. Siakam
The Kings start big, and it’s going to be a big test for the Raptors rookie. The six-foot-11 Cousins is averaging almost 28 points and 10 rebounds per game.
What is Toronto’s best sports team? We crunch the numbers | Toronto Star
Raptors
Our number bank notes how the Raptors also struggled mightily when they were founded in 1995, with just 21 wins against 61 losses for a .256 win percentage.
They sank even lower, to a .195 win percentage (16 wins, 66 losses), in the 1997-98 campaign.
But then along came Vince Carter in the 1998 draft and by the 2000-01 season, they enjoyed a 47 win, 37 loss-record and a .573 win percentage.
Carter’s departure in 2004 was accompanied by a marked dip in winning, followed by a return to the playoffs in 2006-2007 in the Chris Bosh years. There was yet another decline in team fortunes when Bosh departed for Miami in 2010.
The efforts of current general manager Masai Ujiri and a backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan help explain the current respectability that includes a 49-win season in 2014-15 (.598 win percentage) and 56 wins in 2015-16 (a .683 win percentage).
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