These two pieces of kinetic poetry courtesy of DeMar DeRozan came in the Raptors’ 88–83 loss to the Celtics Wednesday night, and their beauty stood in stark contrast to what was, overall, an ugly, grinding game.
Neither club could buy a bucket (the Raptors shot 38.5 percent from the floor; the Celtics 34.5 percent); Amir Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson managed just 13 points between them on 4-of-14 shooting (the trio has averaged 32.5 points a night since the Rudy Gay trade); and Toronto may have had better luck shooting their free throws from half-court, going 12-of-25 for the game (48 percent).
The loss to the Celtics, a team that had dropped nine straight, snapped a three-game winning streak. So, all in all, the kind of night that makes one long for a Forget-Me-Now.
Though he went a not-excellent nine-for-22 from the floor, DeRozan did hang 23 points on Avery Bradley, a strong perimeter defender who held James Harden to just 16 points on Monday night. He also pulled down eight boards.
Eric Smith made the case in detail earlier this week, but it’s worth briefly restating: DeRozan deserves to be an all-star. He ranks second among shooting guards in points per game (21.3), is averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists, and—unlike his main competition for a reserve spot, Lance Stephenson and Arron Afflalo—he has proven he can be the cornerstone of a winning club.
Go vote for him.
That said, there is still room for improvement in DeRozan’s game, particularly in his shot selection.
For the season, DeRozan is shooting 42.3 percent from the floor. That’s down from a career average of 44.9 percent, but somewhat excusable as it’s coming on 4.7 more field-goal attempts per game. He’s also earning a career high 6.8 free-throw attempts per game (tied for eighth-most in the NBA) and that number’s been climbing (he’s averaging 8.6 in January), suggesting that he’s attacking the basket with newfound abandon.
So what’s the problem?
The first is that DeRozan’s jump in FTAs hasn’t resulted from driving to the rim with greater frequency. He’s taken 19.4 percent of his shots in the restricted area so far this season, which is above league average. But it’s also the lowest mark of his career by more than five percent.
He’s getting to the line because he’s gotten better at drawing contact and, more importantly, he’s actually getting some calls.
Another issue is that long two-point jumpers have made up 34.3 percent of DeRozan’s attempts this season. That’s a lot, and it’s only been sustainable because he’s hit an above-average number of them (40.7 percent).
The solution would usually be to urge him to take a few steps back and heave those shots from beyond the arc, but DeRozan has been terrible from deep of late, with a career-high (though still ugly) 29.3 3FG% for the season somewhat disguising the fact that he’s shot just 18.4 percent on threes since Dec. 8 (the date of the Gay trade).
That number is too bad not to come up, especially given that DeRozan’s got a good-looking stroke—evidenced by his solid percentages from the line and on long twos—and pointing it out is meant less as criticism than as a reason for further optimism: DeRozan’s been playing at an all-star level while shooting less than 20 percent from three.
He’s still got plenty of room before he hits his ceiling and the playoff experience he’s all but assured this season will only help that development. Wednesday’s game aside, it’s a good time to be a Raptors fan.