DeMar DeRozan looking for bounce-back year
Here’s the National Post (Canada) reporting on Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who reportedly spent extra time this summer working on his 3-point shooting:
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“Everyday I wake up, I take pride in being the longest Raptor here. People bring up third or whatever in franchise scoring — there is so much stuff like that.”
He went on to say that he knows if he performs well, and the team performs well, the money will take care of itself, which is true. It is also where things get interesting. DeRozan remains as polarizing as any marquee player in the league.
DeRozan followed his all-star season in 2013-14 with arguably his most dispiriting season. He missed 21 games early in the year with a groin injury, and had trouble finding his form when he returned. He shot 39 per cent on pull-up, catch-and-shoot two-pointers, and 36 per cent on pull-up two-pointers — down from 47 and 37 per cent, respectively, a year ago. DeRozan’s game, in the words of new assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse, is “an aberration” in today’s NBA because he focuses on his mid-range game. He still got to the free-throw line 7.4 times per 36 minutes, but it was not enough to prop up his falling percentages to match the efficiency of a year ago.
With that in mind, he put extra work into his three-point shot this summer, and not for the first time. DeRozan has always insisted that he could shoot the three-pointer, but he has just chosen to focus on other parts of his offensive game. Whatever the reason, he has never shot better than 31 per cent from long distance.
