DeMar DeRozan is questioned for a couple of reasons. The first, in my opinion, is that he does not shoot a lot of 3's and in today's NBA, you have to shoot three pointers. If you don't, you are considered inefficient. The second, in my opinion, is that he has struggled a great deal in the playoffs. Let's address the first thought. DeRozan has a good midrange game. He is an efficient two point shooter and that is where the majority of his shots came from. Last season, 92% of his shots were two point shots. Of those 92%, 31% were 16 feet to the 3 point line, 24% from 10 to 16 feet, and 22% from 3 to 10 feet. He shot good percentages from those areas making 48% from 3 to 10 feet, 49% from 10 to 16 feet, and 38% from 16 feet to the 3 point line. However, despite averaging over 27 points per game, people think that if he starts shooting 3's he will become better.
I love the NBA of today. I find that the game is more exciting and that there are an amazing group of players. However, some of the drawbacks are things like this. I guarantee you that there is not one NBA team that would turn down DeMar DeRozan. His play reminds me a lot of Michael Jordan. While you may think that DeRozan is not anywhere near Jordan's level and I will agree, his offense comes from the same spots and I would dare to say that he might be just as efficient. During the Bulls amazing run from 1996-1998 after Jordan's comeback, he played a great deal of his game from the midrange. The funny thing about it is we call Jordan the GOAT, but if he played the way he played during those years in today's NBA, he would be inefficient as well.
Let's get to the 2nd reason and that is the playoff struggles. DeMar DeRozan has had some difficult shooting slumps in the postseason and it has really hurt his standing in the league in my opinion. His scoring average dropped almost 5 points from the regular season to the playoffs and the Raptors, who many thought would challenge Cleveland were tested beyond belief by the Milwaukee Bucks and then had their butts handed to them for the 2nd year in a row by the Cavaliers. The playoff struggles that seem to visit him every year and the inability to win a game against the Cavaliers in 8 playoff games hurts DeRozan. Again, it is funny how the era in which DeRozan plays makes it harder for him. Tracy McGrady never made it out of the 1st round of the playoffs during his prime and even blew some pretty big playoff leads, but he is given a pass for the majority of them because he played well, even though he was very inefficient as well. In his four playoff appearances, DeRozan has shot under 40% twice on all his field goal attempts and the two that were over 40% were 40% exactly and 43%. McGrady had quite a few more playoff trips, he made it to the playoffs 7 times during his run with the Raptors, Magic, and Rockets. During those trips he shot under 40% 2 times and the 4 that were over 40% were 42%, 46% (twice), 45%, and 43%.
Now, in today's NBA, players are held to a higher standard and it seems that whether or not players are efficient can hurt their stock. DeMar DeRozan is a go to scorer on a 50 win team. He has gotten better and I expect that this will be a big year for him. He has said that he is going to shoot more 3's this season, but I like his game the way that it is. If you are a good scorer in the midrange, do that. If you are a good post player, do that. DeMar DeRozan is easily one of the 5 best two guards in the league. He plays hard and he cares about winning. We have to stop all of this craziness with saying that guys are not good just because they don't shoot 3's. Remember, if you criticize DeRozan's game do not watch 90's NBA basketball, it is all midrange and isolation in the style of DeRozan. DeRozan may not get the credit that he deserves, but I feel that he is underrated as a player. He is a throwback and it's good to see that he has not become three point happy in a league that is starting to get that way.