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DeMar DeRozan named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, #NBAVote

Ho, hum.

DeMar DeRozan has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday.

The Raptors were led to a perfect 4-0 week by their three-time All-Star, with DeRozan averaging 30.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor, 61.9 percent on threes, and 82.9 percent at the line. His week was highlighted by a career-high 45 points Thursday against Philadelphia, pushing his season averages to 24.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.

I wrote this when DeRozan was named Player of the Week in late November, and nothing has changed:

He’s scoring at a career-best true-shooting percentage despite a usage rate above 30 percent, matching his career high in PER, and shooting a higher volume of threes without sacrificing free throws. The only part of his statistical profile that’s changed for the worse is a small uptick in turnover percentage that’s been made up for some by a career-best assist percentage and a near-career best steal percentages. DeRozan-and-bench units are even performing better than they have in recent years, a testament to his improvement as a facilitator. The Raptors have a higher net rating with DeRozan off the floor, owing to the solid play of the bench against opposing second units, and the Raptors are outscoring teams by 4.2 points per-100 possessions when DeRozan’s on the court, the best individual net rating mark of his career.

DeRozan continues to improve, somehow, and he’s as sure a bet there is for the All-Star Game in February. A reminder that voting is now open, so make sure to hit that #NBAVote frequently. The Raptors own the best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference, are well inside the top 10 at both ends of the floor, are a top-three team by net rating, and DeRozan is at the heart of all of it (even advanced metrics that are normally sour on him are grading him as having a career year across the board).

This marks DeRozan’s seventh time earning a Player of the Week nod, with all of them coming in the last three seasons. That ties him with Vince Carter and Chris Bosh for the most in Raptors’ history. He may have an outside shot at becoming the first Raptor with three Player of the Month awards, too, as he’s averaging 27.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists with a terrific 61.9 true-shooting percentage so far in December, a month in which the Raptors are 10-1 so far.

This guy.