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For his entire career, Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan has been known as a pure scorer with a game similar to Kobe Bryant's. But there's always been one aspect of his game that's hampered him: his unwillingness and inability to shoot three-pointers.
As the NBA continues to more toward the three being the biggest weapon on the basketball floor, DeRozan has continued to make a living on midrange jump shots and trips to the free throw line. He still scored tons of points, but he was criticized by basketball minds all over the league for not stepping outside the three-point arc.
This season, however, DeRozan has made a point to take more three-pointers. He's attempting 3.2 per game and making 1.2 — both career highs, per Basketball-Reference.
DeRozan chalks up the increase in threes as a way to help everyone on the court, per Michael Pina of VICE Sports.
“If Kyle runs a screen-and-roll, him and JV, my man’s gotta make a decision. Are you gonna leave me now or are you gonna go help?” DeRozan said while slumped against a wall at a Raptors practice in Midtown Manhattan. “So it gives us opportunities to be able to get an easy screen and roll to the big, a dump off pass, so I think it’s more so for everybody else as well. That’s me wanting to be better not just for myself but for my teammates as well.”
DeRozan's three-point shooting has certainly helped, but it remains to be seen whether or not this is a permanent change.
Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey seems to think so, per Pina.
“He’s always had the green light to [shoot threes] but he always had that crutch of getting to his sweet spot. But now he’s more comfortable,” Casey told VICE Sports. “Right now teams probably don’t think it’s for real. But I’ve seen enough in practice and in summer times working with him to know that this is for real, and he’s got to continue to do it.”
DeRozan has led the Raptors to a point where they are very dangerous in the Eastern Conference and could make a serious push to unseating the Cleveland Cavaliers as conference champions.
