• DeMar DeRozan, SG, Toronto Raptors
How fickle a compressed NBA season can be. Just two weeks ago, DeRozan was on our list of early surprises, having canned 10 of his first 16 threes in looking ready to grow into a second-option role alongside the red-hot Andrea Bargnani.
But Bargnani is out with an injury, DeRozan has missed 16 of his last 18 threes and he continues to look overmatched as a go-to ball-handler — a role he’s playing much less often this season under new coach Dwane Casey. DeRozan is shooting just 40 percent overall, he’s getting to the line — once his bread and butter — fewer times per minute than he did even in his rookie season, and he still struggles to pass out of traffic and on the move. DeRozan is averaging only 1.3 assists, and though he’s still just 22, it’s looking more like his NBA ceiling might be as the third option, at best, on a good team. Defense remains an issue against both shooting guards and small forwards, though continued time under Casey will help there.
How fickle a compressed NBA season can be. Just two weeks ago, DeRozan was on our list of early surprises, having canned 10 of his first 16 threes in looking ready to grow into a second-option role alongside the red-hot Andrea Bargnani.
But Bargnani is out with an injury, DeRozan has missed 16 of his last 18 threes and he continues to look overmatched as a go-to ball-handler — a role he’s playing much less often this season under new coach Dwane Casey. DeRozan is shooting just 40 percent overall, he’s getting to the line — once his bread and butter — fewer times per minute than he did even in his rookie season, and he still struggles to pass out of traffic and on the move. DeRozan is averaging only 1.3 assists, and though he’s still just 22, it’s looking more like his NBA ceiling might be as the third option, at best, on a good team. Defense remains an issue against both shooting guards and small forwards, though continued time under Casey will help there.
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