Before the draft there were a lot of discussions about how good DeMar Deozan is and about how good he can become. Some people saw in him the next Gerald Green while some others believed that he could turn into the next Jason Richardson or even Vince Carter. It was also very unclear which team would pick him in the draft because nobody was sure about how good he already is and if he can help a team this upcoming season.
During the draft a lot of surprises happened before DeMar got picked. Hasheem Thabeet was picked with the second overall pick, the Timberwolves picked two point guards ( Rubio and Flynn ) and the Knicks had to take Jordan Hill because the Warriors already picked Stephen Curry with the seventh pick. A lot of experts were sure that the Raptors would take him if he was still available because he’s the shooting guard they needed, but it was thought that he would not be available with the ninth pick and the Raptors would have to take someone else. Well, that day god was a Raptors fan and DeMar was still available so the Raptors didn’t hesitate and picked DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
When DeRozan finally played his first games for the Toronto Raptors in the summer league, a lot of people were surprised. DeRozan looks ready to help the Raptors in the NBA and is already considered as a steal in the draft. Well, let’s check out his game a bit closer…
Strengths :
DeMar’s midrange game looks really nice. He comes off screens ready to catch the ball and also shoots it pretty well. He has good elevation on his jump shot and can adjust his shot when people get a hand on his face. In fact, he is considered as the best midrange player in this draft and already has proven that he can provide scoring from that area. He hasn’t shoot a lot of shots from downtown, that’s why it’s not fair to already judge his outside shot.
Demar is also really explosive and uses that gift on both ends of the court. He rebounds well when he’s on the boards but still needs to block out his opponent a bit better and develop that absolute will power to get every rebound possible. On offense he uses his amazing explosiveness to jump higher than his defender when he drives to the rim or simply create separation when he wants to hit a turnaround jumper.
His greatest weapon for now is probably his fastbreak game. He runs the floor really well and knows how to use the space in the open court to get the ball at the right time and place. He can finish in a lot of different ways; with a alley oop dunk, tip in or simply a catch and lay in. He has a nice touch around the rim and knows how to use it.
What he needs to improve :
At this stage of his career DeMar is an ok ballhandler. Some people said that he was a poor ballhandler but that’s not true. We already saw him dribbling the ball after a rebound or an inbound pass by one of his teammates. He doesn’t need to pass the ball to the point guard, he can simply do it by himself. When he catches the ball most of the time he goes to his right side, he rarely drives to his left side. He has to change that because in the NBA players will not allow him to use just one direction. He also looses the ball sometimes in complicated situations because he’s not that comfortable handling the ball.
Even though he shoots the ball pretty well from the midrange, he has to perfect his shooting technique becaue we often saw him kicking out his right leg when he made a jump shot. Kicking out your leg will create a bad balance and it also increases the possibility to get injured in the case that you land bad after some contact with the defender.
DeMar didn’t had a lot of assists during the summer league games. Sure, that was just the summer league but he rarely tried to create a shot for someone else or kicked out the ball when he drived. To become a complete player he has to improve his passing ability and try to get his teammates involved.
The last couple of games, we saw him driving more often to the rim but he has to do that more often. His athletic ability and amazing explosiveness is very unique and he has to use that to draw more fouls and make his game even better. To become a complete player he has to have the ability to do all three things from the triple threat position; driving, passing and shooting.
DeMar DeRozan has already showed that he has a lot of potential and coaches say that he is willing to learn every day and shows great effort during practice. The summer league was a good indication of what we can expect from DeMar next season and to be honest : The sky is the limit for this young kid !
During the draft a lot of surprises happened before DeMar got picked. Hasheem Thabeet was picked with the second overall pick, the Timberwolves picked two point guards ( Rubio and Flynn ) and the Knicks had to take Jordan Hill because the Warriors already picked Stephen Curry with the seventh pick. A lot of experts were sure that the Raptors would take him if he was still available because he’s the shooting guard they needed, but it was thought that he would not be available with the ninth pick and the Raptors would have to take someone else. Well, that day god was a Raptors fan and DeMar was still available so the Raptors didn’t hesitate and picked DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
When DeRozan finally played his first games for the Toronto Raptors in the summer league, a lot of people were surprised. DeRozan looks ready to help the Raptors in the NBA and is already considered as a steal in the draft. Well, let’s check out his game a bit closer…
Strengths :
DeMar’s midrange game looks really nice. He comes off screens ready to catch the ball and also shoots it pretty well. He has good elevation on his jump shot and can adjust his shot when people get a hand on his face. In fact, he is considered as the best midrange player in this draft and already has proven that he can provide scoring from that area. He hasn’t shoot a lot of shots from downtown, that’s why it’s not fair to already judge his outside shot.
Demar is also really explosive and uses that gift on both ends of the court. He rebounds well when he’s on the boards but still needs to block out his opponent a bit better and develop that absolute will power to get every rebound possible. On offense he uses his amazing explosiveness to jump higher than his defender when he drives to the rim or simply create separation when he wants to hit a turnaround jumper.
His greatest weapon for now is probably his fastbreak game. He runs the floor really well and knows how to use the space in the open court to get the ball at the right time and place. He can finish in a lot of different ways; with a alley oop dunk, tip in or simply a catch and lay in. He has a nice touch around the rim and knows how to use it.
What he needs to improve :
At this stage of his career DeMar is an ok ballhandler. Some people said that he was a poor ballhandler but that’s not true. We already saw him dribbling the ball after a rebound or an inbound pass by one of his teammates. He doesn’t need to pass the ball to the point guard, he can simply do it by himself. When he catches the ball most of the time he goes to his right side, he rarely drives to his left side. He has to change that because in the NBA players will not allow him to use just one direction. He also looses the ball sometimes in complicated situations because he’s not that comfortable handling the ball.
Even though he shoots the ball pretty well from the midrange, he has to perfect his shooting technique becaue we often saw him kicking out his right leg when he made a jump shot. Kicking out your leg will create a bad balance and it also increases the possibility to get injured in the case that you land bad after some contact with the defender.
DeMar didn’t had a lot of assists during the summer league games. Sure, that was just the summer league but he rarely tried to create a shot for someone else or kicked out the ball when he drived. To become a complete player he has to improve his passing ability and try to get his teammates involved.
The last couple of games, we saw him driving more often to the rim but he has to do that more often. His athletic ability and amazing explosiveness is very unique and he has to use that to draw more fouls and make his game even better. To become a complete player he has to have the ability to do all three things from the triple threat position; driving, passing and shooting.
DeMar DeRozan has already showed that he has a lot of potential and coaches say that he is willing to learn every day and shows great effort during practice. The summer league was a good indication of what we can expect from DeMar next season and to be honest : The sky is the limit for this young kid !
Great Article nice to have you in the crew!
AntwortenLöschen