Everything Derozan

[Miekenstien]

Also, we should distinguish those who said that DeRozan couldn't improve period, vs. those who said he couldn't improve specific aspects of his game. I mean, is anyone still holding out hope that he'll become a 35% 3-pt shooter?

i haven't breathed in 3 years

[SkywalkerAC]

That would be true if a player simply improved his play. With DeRozan, it's more about changing the way he plays. When the improvement comes because of the 'how', it's an entirely different conversation.

The whole crux of the argument this offseason was that he was/wasn't smart and coachable and talented enough to shift his game.

[white men can't jump]

The whole DD is a "new player" is just some posters trying to cover up the fact that DD has proven them wrong once again.

Lets not act like DD wasn't playing out of his mind last year for last 2 months after being healthy.

The only difference is Masai has brought players(Carroll) that better complement his game. Which make him harder to guard.

DD has just continued from where he left off at the end of the regular season.

I don't think he's a new player, and I don't think he's playing any better than his better times. He's playing at about the same level as his all-star year. Right now the whistle is extra good for him (that's going to come down a bit, he's at 11 attempts per game right now). The assist jump back up is the biggest thing, because even making better decisions, he's not a big enough offensive threat for teams to worry about him winning a game on his own. He has to involve his teammates and that's easily when he's at his best offensively. That was the biggest thing in his all-star year, and it's the biggest thing this year.

And he's not forcing as many bad shots (which again is something he did in his all-star year). He still has similar holes in his game, he's just smartly minimizing the damage by avoiding poor decisions. Small sample, but so far this year, he's attempting just .172% of his shots from 16-23 vs .338 last year, which is actually easily a career low at this point (next best is .312% in his 2nd year, .362% in his all star year...yuck). He's taking slightly more 3s than last year and a lot more from in close (3-10ft) and the closer mid-range (10-16ft). Despite cutting out so many long 2s, he still depends on FTs to be an efficient scorer as he still doesn't shoot that well from anywhere.

I still don't see a max-worthy player here. Now, if he's willing to sign at a team-friendly deal and keeps playing like this (hopefully with maybe another small bump in efficiency with experience), that's great. I'd still see what options I have on the open market.

And it's still just been 5 games. Need to see what kind of trend keeps up for the year.

[Chr1s1anL]

He's taking less dumb shots.

I've see him take a lot of fade ways already this year. What people don't get is that those bad shots set up his game. Do you think defenders would fall for his pump fakes if he never pulled up off the dribble or posted up and faded away?

[Chr1s1anL]

After watching the ball stick on offence for the last few years, simply cannot agree.

If his assists go up (or stay the same) but his usage comes down, you can't say that's the same playing style.

The ball is finally moving, which is what so many of us have been screaming for these past few years. Only a select few players are talented enough to excel in a ball stopper role, DD isn't in that class (and even those in that class struggle to win).

The offense did not stick for the last few seasons. It was just last year.

[white men can't jump]

The whole crux of the argument this offseason was that he was/wasn't smart and coachable and talented enough to shift his game.

Actually, the whole crux of the argument was based around the debate of whether he'll be worth a max contract, which is what many fear he'll command as a free agent, and has not shown any sign of being worth (even in these early season games).

[Bandit]

That BS. You praise effort and dedication - whether it pays off or not.

But now that it seems like it might actually be paying off (and he's got better team-mates to assist, etc.) you want to spin it that you were wholly justified in insisting he should have been better, sooner.

Just give the man some credit and enjoy the wins, why don't you? Is there any point in retrospective Demar bashing ...?

Yea, from a leadership perspective you praise effort and dedication. Guess what? I don't fill a leadership role with the raps organisation.

From the perspective of a fan, why aren't we justified to criticize the major part of the game we get to see, that being of course the product on the floor? I believed, and i know many others did as well, that Demar was a gifted and talented player but his decisions on the court affected his ability to help the team win.

This group of "Haters" always thought the innate talent was there, that the effort was there. We criticized the coices he made.

Now he appears to have incorporated those critiques into his game, and all of a sudden I'm a bad guy?

My whole stance (and i've already posted this above) is "Hey, we just beat the thunder on a B2B on their home turf! Demar played well by keeping true to his talents and incorporating some elements that have been criticized! Oh and look at that, the Raps are starting 5-0!"

[Bandit]

Do you have numbers to back up how so drastically his game has changer. Him being a new player it should be quite obvious.

Please, don't start asking for numbers.

You are literally Mr. Eye Test

[white men can't jump]

The offense did not stick for the last few seasons. It was just last year.

Yes it did.

Before Lowry, the reason it didn't look like it "stuck" was because Jose was initiating a lot of it. There was little passing and movement beyond that. Still lots of iso.

Since then, we had basically a good 2-3 months after we traded away Gay, and it fell apart completely in the playoffs and hasn't come back.

Even now we're still near the bottom in the league in assists. The team is showing a bit more willingness to pass, but the passing is still not particularly effective. Need to stick with it.

[Snooch]

I've see him take a lot of fade ways already this year. What people don't get is that those bad shots set up his game. Do you think defenders would fall for his pump fakes if he never pulled up off the dribble or posted up and faded away?

what?

Thats like saying that Demar dribbling the ball off his feet sets up his driveing game cause defenders wont defend the dribble as much

[Snooch]

Know what makes me happy....the trade value......

[Axel]

My whole stance (and i've already posted this above) is "Hey, we just beat the thunder on a B2B on their home turf! Demar played well by keeping true to his talents and incorporating some elements that have been criticized! Oh and look at that, the Raps are starting 5-0!"

And most importantly, we won without anyone resorting to hero ball. A real TEAM win.

If DD (KL or anyone) had gone off for 55 points in hero mode, it wouldn't have been as satisfying as seeing a team game that can be replicated.

[ball4life]

what?

Thats like saying that Demar dribbling the ball off his feet sets up his driveing game cause defenders wont defend the dribble as much

LOL
I Laughed reading this.

[Nilanka]

I've see him take a lot of fade ways already this year. What people don't get is that those bad shots set up his game. Do you think defenders would fall for his pump fakes if he never pulled up off the dribble or posted up and faded away?

Of course, the fadeaway is warranted here and there. But it shouldn't be option #1 in his arsenal. That's when he gets into trouble.

And it's not just fadeaways that make up "dumb shots". It's anything between 18-22 ft with plenty of time left on the clock.

[Bandit]

I've see him take a lot of fade ways already this year. What people don't get is that those bad shots set up his game. Do you think defenders would fall for his pump fakes if he never pulled up off the dribble or posted up and faded away?

He has, yes! But the difference is like last night vs OKC where he used it to set up his game, and against Dallas where he settled for it.

The difference is what comes after the fade away. When he fades a couple 15 footers followed by a good fake/drive it sets him up to get clean looks and to get to the line. He's doing a better job this year (look at his FTA) at setting up his game