DeMar DeRozan is the NBA’s worst superstar

For the second-straight game, the Cleveland Cavaliers clowned around the Toronto Raptors and blew them out back to Canada, 125-102, on Wednesday, May 3 (Thursday Manila time).

Several records were shattered en route to the easy victory. LeBron James scored 39 of Cleveland’s new franchise playoff-high 125 points, which moved him to second on the NBA’s all-time playoff points leaders and fourth on the all-time playoff three-point field goal leaders. The Cavaliers’ franchise player surpassed the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant on these respective categories in one fell swoop. 

Meanwhile, Toronto’s franchise player might as well be not called as such. DeMar DeRozan chipped in just 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists on 2-11 shooting with zero steals or blocks. All game long, the defending champions clamped him down to the point where his matchup JR Smith actually outscored him by one point. Also, Smith had two steals and a block, to add insult to injury. 

This is nothing new to the Raptors, however. They are so infamously terrible come playoff time that the Milwaukee Bucks had the guts to play the Barney theme song during Game 3 of their first-round matchup. Then DeRozan proceeded to go full-on Barney indeed and finished with zero points on 0-8 shooting as the Raptors lost by 27 points. 

Sure, a bad game happens to any superstar. But what separates the real stars from the bad ones is their ability to adapt to adversity and contribute to the game in other ways. This is simply not the case with DeRozan.

Although the three-time All-Star has had magnificent scoring displays this season and finished with a career-high 27.3 points per game, he hasn’t done enough improvement on any other aspect of his game. Every other statistic except his points have stagnated in his 8 years as a professional. 

With career averages of 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.3 blocks, the one-dimensional star is really bound to be completely shut down on any given day, even in crucial playoff games. To compare, even the legendary ball-hogging offensive juggernaut that is Kobe Bryant was selected to the All-NBA Defense Team. 

Heck, even DeRozan’s offense – literally his only strength – is still one-dimensional. For some reason, he stubbornly refuses to improve his three-point shot, both in quality and volume.

Averaging just 1.7 three-point shots on .266% shooting for this season, he prefers to consistently rely on his mid-range jumper on which he holds a still-dismal 37% average. Stephen Curry’s three-point averages, you ask? 10.0 attempts per game on .411% shooting this season – an average of 8.3 more attempts per game and 13% better than DeRozan. In an era where the three-ball is the most prized weapon of the league, DeRozan flat out refuses to pull the trigger.

Worst of all, 82% of his shots last season came off isolation plays, meaning that his teammates were useless 82% of the time he tries to score. As his individual scoring rose through 8 years, his tendency to move the ball went the other way. During his breakout second year in the league, he only went iso 59% of the time. In comparison, Bryant’s highest isolation percentage was “just” 73%. 

Summarizing bluntly, the future of Toronto is basically a one-dimensional and ineffective ball-hog with itching allergies to offensive improvement and defensive effort. 

No wonder Toronto is a playoff laughingstock. – Rappler.com

Editor’s note: The original post cited Curry’s 3-point attempts per 100 possessions, not per game. The story has been updated to reflect that correction, and to contrast their averages for the 2016-17 regular season.