Toronto Raptors: 2017-18 player grades for DeMar DeRozan
Strengths
Thanks to the Raptors’ new, team-centric offense, DeRozan’s usage rate dropped to from 34.3 percent to 29.6. Despite handling the ball less, his production didn’t take a drastic dip. The four-time All-Star averaged a steady 23.0 points per game with a 55.5 true shooting percentage, which is roughly league average.
DeRozan offset his decrease in shots with an increase in assists; he averaged a career-best 5.2 dimes per game and he lifted his assist rate to 25 percent, another career-high.
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DeRozan’s efficiency on ball screens, in transition and in isolation were by and large similar to last year’s numbers. He averaged a respectable 0.92 points per possession on 9.3 pick-and-roll possessions per game this year, slightly worse than his 0.97 points per possession on 11.1 possessions last year.
His transition (1.26 PPP in 2016-17 and 2017-18) and isolation numbers (1.03 PPP on three possessions per game this year, 1.02 PPP on 4.6 last year) follow the same pattern: similar production on slightly fewer opportunities. The same went for his free throw attempts. He still got to the line plenty (seven times per game), just not as much as he did last year (8.7 attempts per game).
All of this shows that DeRozan’s shot selection more or less stayed the same; he just attempted fewer shots.
Even though Toronto’s more egalitarian schemes lessened DeRozan’s responsibilities, his game didn’t change much.