Trust in big man Nogueira coming slowly for Raptors | Toronto Sun
The question now becomes: Can he sustain it? With Nogueira, that has always been the question.
There is no denying his obvious gifts. He stands seven-feet tall, is extremely quick for such a big man, has a 7-foot-6 wingspan and a standing reach of nine feet, six inches.
Just lately, we’re seeing his natural feel for the game, and he displays near- perfect timing leaving his feet to block would-be scorers.
But there is a hesitancy both from his head coach and even some of his teammates to suddenly declare him the answer to their rim protection deficiencies or, in plain English, filling the rather large shoes left behind by the departure of Bismack Biyombo.
In these past three games, he has looked every bit the perfect fit for those shoes after Biyombo himself, according to Nogueira, took him aside this past summer and told him it was his time.
But doing it for three games and doing it over time are two very different things.
Nogueira’s short past in Toronto is littered with injuries that seem to linger and prevent the big man from showing off some of those physical attributes he brings to the table.
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Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan’s Evolution To The Next Level – Hoops Habit
His confidence is through the roof; his footwork is flawless; and, most importantly, he’s been decisive with every move. Gone are the Kobe Bryant-esque multiple pump fakes, before forcing up a highly-contested 18-foot jumper.
Instead, DeRozan is getting to his spots with his improved ball-handling and just launching (and hitting) with no recourse.
Thus far this year, DeMar is nailing 51.3 percent of his field goal attempts from 3-10 feet, a ridiculous 64.3 percent from 10-16 feet, and 50.9 percent from 16 feet-3 point line.
For comparative purposes, his career averages in those areas are 42.8, 40.7, and 37.8 percent, respectively, per Basketball Reference.
His mid-range output has been simply mind-boggling. In fact, roughly 51.3 percent of his field goal attempts are from the mid-range areas of the floor, where he makes 54 percent of them and is assisted on only on 22.6 percent of said conversions.
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