DeRozan vows to understand flaws, come back even better
Toronto Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is always striving to improve.
DeRozan blossomed from a raw athlete into one of the most skilled scorers in the league thanks to his legendary work ethic. Tales of skipping New Year's Eve parties to study film, or running daily 5:30 a.m. workouts during the Olympics, is DeRozan's legacy.
The reward for DeRozan's hard work is three All-Star appearances, a gold medal, and a maximum contract to lead Canada's team. He's now the master of the mid-range, he's credited for having the best footwork in the league, and he's coming off his first All-NBA nod after finishing fifth in scoring with over 27 points per night.
So what's DeRozan's goal moving forward? To set the bar even higher.
"Continue to get better, continue to win," DeRozan told ESPN Sportscenter's Cari Champion of his intentions for next season.
"Continue to grow as a player, as a leader, and keep pushing the envelope. Understand my flaws from the year previously and come back better this year."
Every summer, DeRozan focuses on improving one aspect of his game. He developed a mid-range game when opponents treated him as simply a dunker. He became a skilled ball-handler when defenders denied him away from the ball. He added a post game to punish smaller defenders, installed a deadly step-back jumper to thwart bigger defenders, then took strides to improve his playmaking as he faced more double teams in recent years.
It's unclear what the next adaptation will be from DeRozan, but improving his wonky 3-point shooting seems to be a safe bet. He shared an Instagram post earlier this summer where he took 700 threes in a midnight workout session.
DeMar DeRozan hit 64% of his 700 3pt attempts during a late-night workout, according to his IG story pic.twitter.com/why2crAqoQ
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) July 25, 2017
It's unlikely that DeRozan, with his lifetime 3-point percentage of 28.1, could suddenly become even an average shooter in his ninth season. But it would truly make all the difference for his game if he could force defenders to stay honest.
DeRozan is already a master in the pick-and-roll, he's lethal when going to the basket, he draws fouls at a prolific rate, and he can finish with either finesse or power. Forcing defenders to play tight would make DeRozan truly unstoppable as a complete scorer.
"It's great to have this opportunity to carry a franchise, and just show them that I come back every year much better," DeRozan said.