[OhCanada-Participant]

Demar Derozan just shot 6 of 9 from three tonight scoring a career high 45 points and is now 9 of 13 in his last two games. His struggles shooting threes are well documented. Early in his career I argued he would eventually develop a 3pt shot with many people but eventually lost hope. He has shown stretches in the past where he shoots with confidence and others where he would not even attempt them and this year is no exception.

In the first 17 games this season he made 16 threes and was consistently taking his shots. After that he went 9 straight games without making a three. It seems to be a confidence thing for him. The coaching staff has been preeaching which shots he needs to be taking and the criteria is quite simple. While he is handling the ball on pick and rolls when the defence goes under he is suppose to take the three to keep them honest. Stats have proven that if he converts at least 30% of those shots it is more effecient then him taking any of his 15 feet and beyond two point jumpers. Also when teams leave him alone beyond the three point line he needs to jack them up.

The thing the drives me crazy is he has an excellent form. Its not like Andre Igoudala’s flat shot which leads me to believe it is strictly a confidence issue.Tonights game should be a boost of confidence for his long range shooting but Ive seen in the past that the confidence he gets from streaks like this is short term and he loses it quickly.

What can he do to improve his consistency? Will he ever be a reliable three point threat?

 

 

[holefillers1Participant]

 Oh C, the answer to both of your questions revolves around an 82 game schedule against the Sixers consisting of 41 home and aways.

[OhCanada-Participant]

LMAO. Im honestly waiting for you to make a seperate thread about that game. Dont be too hard on them they were never gonna win this game.

[The GoatParticipant]

 DeRozan is a guy I thought was just ok when drafted, but had potential to make improvements.  He really has. He has steadily improved for years. It’s taken a long time but he’s an all star regular now. You have to think now that a consistent 3 point shot is eventually going to come.  He is very close to his peak, so the Raptors better be ready to go get someone extra to give them a small window. 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 I wondered the same thing about Dwyane wade throughout his career. His form shooting the three was never bad and he’d go through stretches in his career where he knocked them down pretty consistently. He just never really had the confidence to stick with it, which seems pretty ridiculous for someone as talented as wade. As soon as he misses a few he just stops taking them altogether. For some reason, the shot from a step or two inside the line is just a lot more comfortable for him. It’s clearly a psychological thing. Believe it or not, Jordan had his struggles with the three point shot throughout his career as well and even Kobe (perhaps the most confident player in history) went through some stretches where he lost confidence in his ability to make 3s. 

There is clearly a psychological hurdle for DeRozan when he takes a step back behind that line as opposed to a step or two inside it, but he can clearly make the shot. The key is just to have the confidence to keep shooting them, even if he misses a few in a row.

 

[HitsterParticipant]

If 7ft front courters can develop a 3 point range in their 30’s then someone like DeRozan should be able to as it will certainly prolong his career when he loses that bit of speed as his career progresses. It could be the difference between him being remembered as a very good player or a truly great one.

D-Wade was such an effective and efficient scorer that a lack of a 3 point range didn’t really effect him plus when he was DeRozan’s age he had LBJ alongside him so was playing a more defined role. Although he only entered the NBA 6 years before DeRozan, D-Wade played his peak years in a slightly different era when a 3 point range was a "less sexy thing" and it didn’t impact D-Wade’s game much.

It is a bit scary to think what D-Wade might have been like with a go to 3 point range!

 

 

[Jr. ROXASParticipant]

I’m curious if it was done ever before that in the middle of the season, a player goes from 0.5 threes to like 3 a game? He had 2, 6, and 4 threes the past 3 games and it looks like that 76er really gave him the confidence.

[XYRYXParticipant]

I just came across Blake Griffins stats this season and before he was a total non 3 point shooter with 0.7 attempts per game and upped that to 6.1 attempts per game this year while converting 2.2 of them per game, good for 35.3 %. This isn’t really efficient and Blake’s field goal percentage is on the decline since 2011 every year and at a new low at 42% and he always is injured combined with his fat new contract. But the jump he had in attempts is really eye popping and he kind of desperately tries to go with the new NBA shooting style even if it doesn’t really fit his natural style. I mean he is one of the better post players in the league but instead tries to be something he isn’t and shoots less then 43 percent from the field as a frontcourt player? Cmon

 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 In Derozans last 8 games he has hit 25 three’s. This is including a 2 game Western road slump where he hit none and shot the ball 7/32 FG. He shook that off quick though and broke a usual habit of degressing after seeing progress with his shot. The 3 point shot literally makes him impossible to gaurd and you cant double him because Toronto actually makes threes and moves the ball now. In his last 2 games he has 87 points on 49 shots shooting 23/23 FT and 10/17 3PT. He’s making it a habit and he isnt even shooting too many shots. Cant wait to see where this leads. How is espn gonna low ball his Top 100 ranking now?

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