DeMar DeRozan: 5 Things to Improve on During the Summer

[Built Ford Tough]

http://www.dailysportnewspaper.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/427fa8c2Ed-Davis-AP.jpg

 

 

DeMar DeRozan hasn't exactly had the breakout season that Raptor fans were hoping for this year. He has struggled to take his game to the next level after a very successful second season in the league.

 

Part of that can be attributed to the lockout eliminating any possibility of him working with Raptor personnel during the summer, some of it is adjusting to a new coach and system and part of it is simply DeRozan not improving as much as expected to.

 

To avoid another relatively disappointing season next year, here are five things that DeRozan must improve on during the summer.

 

 

Add Strength

 

Despite standing around 6'7" and boasting a height advantage over a large portion of NBA shooting guards, DeRozan struggles to absorb, finish through or fight through contact, both offensively and defensively.

 

When he attacks the paint on his drives and is hit, he is easily knocked off balance. With him appearing to be off balance or out of control, he does not get the benefit of the doubt from referees on many of his drives.

 

On defense, he struggles to fight through good, hard screens, which allows his man to get open too easily. It also limits his effectiveness on the defensive glass, despite his size and athleticism.

 

By bulking up and adding strength in the offseason, DeRozan will be able to do a better job in these areas. If he is able to absorb and finish through contact offensively, it will greatly increase his offensive efficiency and ultimately result in more trips to the free-throw line.

 

On defense, he will be able to body up better, fight through screens and even contribute more on the glass with the added muscle mass.

 

 

Tighten Up His Handle

 

A big part of DeRozan's much lower offensive efficiency this season can be attributed to his struggles creating his own offense off of the bounce.

 

Last season this wasn't as much of an issue because the Raptors played at a much faster pace ,which opened up transition opportunities for him. He also kind of surprised teams with his substantial improvements from his rookie season, so teams didn't focus in on him as much as they do now.

 

This season DeRozan has faced much more defensive attention. Opposing teams are game-planning around stopping him, and the increased defensive pressure has limited his ability to create his own offense.

 

DeRozan has committed 57 ball-handling turnovers and 15 offensive fouls. This may not seem like a lot, but when you consider he is used much more as an off-the-ball player, it is pretty startling.

 

By improving his ability to handle the ball and create his own offense, he will find himself with more opportunities to score. Teams will have to respect him as a threat to blow by them, which in turn will give him more room to get off his jump shot.

 

It will also give the Raptors' offense a new dimension as they don't have any perimeter penetration, which is a big reason for them stagnating offensively so often during the course of a game.

 

 

Improve Jump Shot Consistency

 

After being one of the more productive mid-range shooting guards last season, DeRozan has struggled to duplicate that success this season. He has an effective field-goal percentage of just 39.6 percent on jump shots this season, which is well below average and nearly five percent worse than last season.

 

Reports from the summer indicated that DeRozan spent countless hours working on extending his range out beyond the three-point line, but he would be better served mastering the mid-range jumper before looking to add the three-point shot to his arsenal.

 

Too often players get caught up in the three-point line and they neglect the mid-range jumper, which is a deadly weapon that basically all the best players in the NBA possess.

 

DeRozan should focus on getting his 15-to-20-foot jumper as automatic as possible this summer. If he does that, it will force defenses to play tight on him when he curls off of screens, and that will ultimately open up driving lanes for him.

 

 

Become a Better Defender

 

DeRozan has taken strides on the defensive end this season under new coach Dwane Casey. He is doing a better job with ball denial and has has a more profound understanding of defensive positioning.

 

However, he still has room for improvement on this end. He needs to improve his lateral quickness and do a better job of contesting jumpers.

 

Most importantly, he needs to fight through screens more. He gets picked off way too easily, and it results in him scrambling to recover. This gets him out of position far too often and reacting to the offensive player, rather than forcing the offensive player to react to him.

 

The fact that he never played man-to-man defense until his freshman season at USC plays a large part in his struggles defensively. Despite being in his third NBA season, he has really only played man-to-man defense for four years, which is hardly enough time to become a defensive stopper.

 

 

Improve All-Around Game

 

The last thing is to simply become a more well-rounded player. He has far too many games where he is scoring and doing little else. When he isn't scoring, which is going to happen throughout the course of the season, he becomes too much of a non-factor.

 

By chipping in on the glass, both offensively and defensively, creating some plays for teammates or coming away with a timely steal or block, it will enable him to still leave an impact on the game even when his jumper isn't falling or if he is unable to get to the free-throw line.

 

He has shown glimpses of improved playmaking this season by posting a new career high in assists with seven against the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

Nobody expects him to average that many per game or even five per game, but if he is able to increase his rebounding to around five a game and his assists to three, it will be perhaps even more valuable to the Raptors than if he simply increases his scoring average by a point or two.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1140712-demar-derozan-five-things-to-improve-on-during-the-summer

[ChosenOne]

Honestly i don't think hes going to get any better than he is today. I don't see him being a 20+ ppg players. I think hes going to be a player that is going to be around 16-17 ppg every year. Which is great. He imo isnt a player to build around as a number one option but he can be a player that is a number two or three option on a competitive team.

[DunkinDerozan]

I think if he can get motivated he can really improve a lot. Problem is getting him motivated. It seems like he hasn't been motivated at all this season. Whether its because he doesn't like coach Casey's coaching style, or he doesn't feel motivated because the team is tanking or some other reason. Either way, he needs to pick it up this off season, and next season. IMO, the best way i can see to motivate Demar, is finding some way to sign Brandon Jennings in the offseason. Having his childhood best friend on the team with him could really give him the push he needs.

[Built Ford Tough]

Honestly i don't think hes going to get any better than he is today. I don't see him being a 20+ ppg players. I think hes going to be a player that is going to be around 16-17 ppg every year. Which is great. He imo isnt a player to build around as a number one option but he can be a player that is a number two or three option on a competitive team.

 

I agree that he won't be a first option that you can build around (and I really don't think anybody ever really thought he would become one) or a consistent 20+ scorer, but I highly disagree that he won't get any better than he currently is.

 

Even if his numbers go down he still could easily be a better player if he chips in on the glass, improves his playmaking and becomes a more consistent defender. One point that gets overlooked about his defense (and I mentioned it in the article) is that he played zone all throughout high school and never played man-to-man until his only year at USC. That means he has really only been playing man-to-man defense for 4 years, and 2 of those years were with Jay Triano as his coach, which means they hardly even count considering the complete lack of emphasis put on defense. This is really his first year playing for a coach who truly preaches and emphasizes defense.

 

The other thing is that it was well known he was considered a project when he was drafted and that it would take to the end of his rookie deal before you would be able to truly get a beat on the type of player he would be. The lockout limited an entire offseason of development (in terms of the team being able to actually work with him) for him.

 

Like I said, I don't think he will ever be a legit star or anything like that, but I would be very surprised if he doesn't become a better player.

[ChosenOne]

Wait my bad i should have been a bit clearer in my post when i said "i don't think hes going to get any better than he is today" i was talking about only ppg not overall as a player. My bad. Overall as a player he has a shit ton of room to improve and i think when it comes to play making he will as he continues to grow as a player. Defensively and rebounding wise though I'm really on the fence, mainly because I'm a guy who believes defense and rebounding is a mentality and effort thing and there is only so much one can teach another about those two things. Its going to take a lot of work by both coaches and him to get better at that.

[Built Ford Tough]

Wait my bad i should have been a bit clearer in my post when i said "i don't think hes going to get any better than he is today" i was talking about only ppg not overall as a player. My bad. Overall as a player he has a shit ton of room to improve and i think when it comes to play making he will as he continues to grow as a player. Defensively and rebounding wise though I'm really on the fence, mainly because I'm a guy who believes defense and rebounding is a mentality and effort thing and there is only so much one can teach another about those two things. Its going to take a lot of work by both coaches and him to get better at that.

 

What makes you think that his problems are an effort thing, though?

 

His defensive problems are much more due to his lack of strength and lapses of focus than a lack of effort. The lack of strength results in him getting picked off way too easily and the lapses of focus is common for a young player, especially one with little man-to-man experience like DeRozan.

 

By no means do I think he will become a defensive juggernaut but I really don't see any real major flaws in his effort or compete level on that end of the floor now that Casey has made it clear that if you don't defend you don't play. His problems are fixable ones.

 

Rebounding wise he is basically average now and I would like to see him average more given his size, but part of the Raptors system is that DeRozan leaks out to try and get a transition opportunity, since that is where he is at his best.

 

As for the scoring, I think his efficiency will improve, but I agree his point totals like won't see much more than a 1-1.5 point increase. I fully believe that his mid range jumper will come back to him and even though he will likely never be a consistent three point threat, he makes up for it with his great free throw rate, which should only improve as he gains strength and becomes better at creating off the bounce. His ceiling as a scorer is likely a #3 on a contender or #2 on an average team.

 

Fair enough, though. I can see where you are coming from and I understand the logic you are using. I think part of your opinion may be a bit skewered due to his first two years under Triano where defense really wasn't a priority. His effort has improved under Casey, but he does still have those mental lapses which should hopefully become less frequent with experience.

[Built Ford Tough]

I think if he can get motivated he can really improve a lot. Problem is getting him motivated. It seems like he hasn't been motivated at all this season. Whether its because he doesn't like coach Casey's coaching style, or he doesn't feel motivated because the team is tanking or some other reason. Either way, he needs to pick it up this off season, and next season. IMO, the best way i can see to motivate Demar, is finding some way to sign Brandon Jennings in the offseason. Having his childhood best friend on the team with him could really give him the push he needs.

 

Sorry, I didn't see this post before for some reason.

 

I don't think motivation was an issue. I think he just looked unmotivated because of having to adjust to a new system and he made mistakes and kind of looked around trying to figure out what to do next. I do think his poor January hurt his confidence and it wasn't until after the all-star break that he was able to get more comfortable and confident.

 

There was a stretch of games last week that he looked completely disinterested, though. The OKC, Indy, Philly stretch had me thinking the same thing, but his play against Boston and Atlanta immediately after made me think it was just a case of a young player being taken out of the game by 3 good defensive teams.

 

Also, he plays better without Calderon in the lineup. Calderon is basically the anti-wing point guard. His overdribbling and completely pick and roll reliant game kills any rhythym for wing players. It is great for bigs like Bosh, Bargnani, Johnson and even Gray, but in my opinion it is not a coincidence that guys like Turkoglu, DeRozan, Parker, Weems etc... all played better when it was Ford/Jack/Bayless starting at the point instead of Calderon.

 

As for Jennings, he isn't a free agent this offseason. He was drafted the same year as DeRozan was which means he is an RFA next year, not this year, assuming he doesn't sign an extension. I also don't think it would be worth it for the Raptors to trade what Milwaukee would want in return for Jennings. He is good, but there are better options at the point if you ask me.

[DunkinDerozan]

Sorry, I didn't see this post before for some reason.

 

I don't think motivation was an issue. I think he just looked unmotivated because of having to adjust to a new system and he made mistakes and kind of looked around trying to figure out what to do next. I do think his poor January hurt his confidence and it wasn't until after the all-star break that he was able to get more comfortable and confident.

 

There was a stretch of games last week that he looked completely disinterested, though. The OKC, Indy, Philly stretch had me thinking the same thing, but his play against Boston and Atlanta immediately after made me think it was just a case of a young player being taken out of the game by 3 good defensive teams.

 

Also, he plays better without Calderon in the lineup. Calderon is basically the anti-wing point guard. His overdribbling and completely pick and roll reliant game kills any rhythym for wing players. It is great for bigs like Bosh, Bargnani, Johnson and even Gray, but in my opinion it is not a coincidence that guys like Turkoglu, DeRozan, Parker, Weems etc... all played better when it was Ford/Jack/Bayless starting at the point instead of Calderon.

 

As for Jennings, he isn't a free agent this offseason. He was drafted the same year as DeRozan was which means he is an RFA next year, not this year, assuming he doesn't sign an extension. I also don't think it would be worth it for the Raptors to trade what Milwaukee would want in return for Jennings. He is good, but there are better options at the point if you ask me.

 

Shit I thought he was an RFA this year. I'm not sure how to whole UFA and RFA thing works in the NBA, if its the same as the NHL or whatever. Either way, I think Jennings may be worth trading for or signing to an offer sheet or whatever they have in the NBA. He may not be exactly a play-making PG, and is kind of known as a chucker, but I still think he'd be great paired up with Derozan.

[Built Ford Tough]

Shit I thought he was an RFA this year. I'm not sure how to whole UFA and RFA thing works in the NBA, if its the same as the NHL or whatever. Either way, I think Jennings may be worth trading for or signing to an offer sheet or whatever they have in the NBA. He may not be exactly a play-making PG, and is kind of known as a chucker, but I still think he'd be great paired up with Derozan.

 

The same general idea, but a bit different.

 

In the NHL you sign a player to an offer sheet and if the team who holds his RFA rights doesn't match the offer, they get compensation in the form of draft picks, the value and amount of picks depending on the salary. In the NBA if you don't match you just lose the player. You don't get compensation.

 

As far as Jennings, I wouldn't be opposed to having him on the Raptors as I think Casey would be able to bring out the best in him. He is a solid player. I just don't think he would be worth what you would have to give up to acquire him or the likely money it would take to pry him away from Milwaukee.

 

I know it is a small sample size, but from what I have seen from Bayless as the starting point guard over the last two seasons, I'd rather pay him $5-6M a season than go out and sign Jennings to a deal twice that amount. If they could get Jennings without having to overpay or give up major assets (in other words not happening) I'd be perfectly fine with him on the team.