The first All-Star fan voting returns came in on Thursday with some expected names leading the pack.
In the Western Conference, Stephen Curry was leading all vote getters as he was at the top of the West guards, while LeBron James was comfortably in first among West forwards. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, Kevin Durant was holding a slim margin over Giannis Antetokounmpo for top spot among East forwards.
Looking at the Eastern guards, however, you might’ve expected to see a perennial name like James Harden leading the pack or a budding young superstar like a Trae Young or LaMelo Ball.
Instead, however, the leading vote getter among Eastern Conference guards was new Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, a player who has been an All-Star in the past (four times before, actually) and has been named to a couple of All-NBA teams previously, but only now in his 13th NBA season at 32 years of age is getting the kind of recognition league-wide his talents have always warranted.
And it’s mainly because he’s doing stuff like the following this season:
These two clips are, of course, DeRozan’s now famous back-to-back game-winning buzzer-beaters that he nailed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
A pair of shots that gave him more recognition to a wider audience worldwide than he likely ever did, even as he was playing excellent basketball for the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.
Better yet for him, these are two shining examples of what has been a signature of his play for a while now and why he’s being mentioned more seriously in early MVP discussions these days.
Clutch play.
According to the official NBA stats page, “clutch” is defined as the last five minutes of a game in which the point differential is five or less and over the past five seasons (this one included) there hasn’t been a better player in these specific situations than DeRozan.
Dating back to the 2017-18 campaign, DeRozan has scored a total of 616 points in clutch situations, the most in that period of time. As well, during this time period, DeRozan has had three different seasons that’s seen him finish in the top five of clutch points scored and is in line for a fourth one, as he currently stands second in the league in clutch points scored this season with 72 already.
So, to answer the question, “Who do you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line?” The answer right now has to be DeRozan.
And it’s not only because he scores a lot in those clutch situations, it’s mostly the way he scores in those situations.
The chart you see above is DeRozan’s shot plot in clutch situations this season. As you can see he’s been outstanding, shooting 56.8 per cent from the floor in these situations. However, beyond that obvious excellence, you may notice that of the 37 field-goal attempts he’s taken in the clutch, just two have come from beyond the arc, his aforementioned buzzer-beating game-winners.
DeRozan has had a storied developmental growth dating back to his fledgling days with the Raptors, but never became a truly dangerous three-point threat. This is mainly because he spends most of his time fine-tuning an aspect of the game that many thought would die: the mid-range.
The shot chart you see in front of you can be seen as the culmination of the years of work DeRozan put in honing his craft to be able to not only get off his shot from the mid-range areas whenever he wants, but to do so accurately.
This season, DeRozan is shooing a very healthy 47.2 per cent from mid-range spots and in the clutch that number increases to 52 per cent. So, while it goes against conventional analytic thought, there’s absolutely no reason to feel uncomfortable with DeRozan taking mid-range looks.
Especially because, while the mid-range is his bread-and-butter, it’s not the only weapon in his clutch arsenal.
Once again, looking at that chart, you’ll see 10 shots right around the basket with only three of them missing, something that speaks to DeRozan’s great ability to finish in traffic.
Analytically speaking, while DeRozan’s lack of three-point shooting does hold him back, the fact that he’s shooting nearly 60 per cent in the restricted area this season can make up for that, as well as the fact he’s one of the very best at drawing fouls, getting to the line and converting.
This season, DeRozan is averaging close to eight free-throw attempts per game, right in line with where he’s been for most of his career, connecting on 85.8 per cent of those freebies. In clutch situations, he’s getting to the line about twice per game and is making 87.5 per cent of those attempts.
This knack DeRozan has for drawing fouls in tight situations, and making free throws with the game up for grabs is also another reason why he’s so dangerous from the mid-range, and has likely been a source of his success in clutch moments.
Because he’s such a good ball-handler and is so strong, DeRozan will always be a threat to get into the paint, so that has to be the first thing defences respect, especially because if he gets fouled at the rim he’s probably gonna nail both free throws. Secondary to that, with all the three-point shooters the Bulls have, you almost have to stay home with them, leaving the in-between areas of the floor wide open for DeRozan to just take pot shots.
And, by the way, if you think teams can cheat a little and leave a three-point shooter open by sending a double the DeRozan’s way, just take a look at this clip:
DeRozan isn’t just a scorer, he’s an adept and smart playmaker as well. The clip above illustrates this very simply, as you can see DeRozan drive and then instantly recognize the double heading his way, so he makes the smart pass to Zach LaVine, who had relocated to the three-point line for a mismatch that resulted in a triple in a tight game – that same game DeRozan drilled that game-winning three in the corner against the Washington Wizards, in fact.
In general, it’s a bad idea to send a double DeRozan’s way as he’s become an excellent passer over the years, beginning with his 2017-18 season with the Raptors (his final one with Toronto). Better yet, he’s a low-turnover player – and has only committed one turnover in clutch situations this season – so when the ball is in his hands you know he won’t make a mistake with it, whether he’s looking to score or pass.
This all coalesces to make just a killer combination of skills well-suited for a game’s tightest moments.
How do you stop a guy who can get his shot up whenever he wants, shoot efficiently, bulldoze his way to the basket and score well there but, if you foul him, he’ll likely make you pay, and if you send a double his way he’ll just pick you apart with his passing?
If I knew the answer to that I wouldn’t be a writer.
Simply put, DeRozan has become just about as complete a clutch performer as you’re going to find right now. Because he’s been on a middling San Antonio team for the past two seasons, he hasn’t been able to showcase his “clutch gene” in a little while, but playing for a first-place Bulls squad – a team that’s in first largely thanks to his play this season – he’s probably going to get his shot again.
Something tells me that these game-winning heroics we’ve seen from him of late are just the warm-up for what’s to come in the springtime.
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