Post#152 » by G R E Y » Sun Mar 19, 2017 10:11 pm
Ok, DeRozan finally plays D throughout a game, something we all know is not a standard for him, and now he's 'humble' and 'takes constructive criticism well'? How? When?? I mean, credit to him for finally manning up on D, but my God, it has taken YEARS and two new players who don't have to subscribe to the coddling system since they're FA's and have their own best interests to look after, not fear for the consequences of not catering to DeRozan/Lowry/Casey.
Maybe it's not fair to keep singling them out. But it makes no sense to me that people keep saying maybe Casey has been telling DeRozan to play D all along behind closed doors. Really? Well either Casey hasn't to keep him happy - and varying accountability corrodes respect for authority - or he has and DeRozan has simply brushed him off for years, because he's been made 'the man', given the reigns a long time ago, and concentrated on his O game almost exclusively. Was there ever a DeRozan video telling us he'd be improving on his D? It was always aspects of his O game. It's part of a system that allowed it to take place, so he's a product of that, but it says something about a player and system that brought rise to it.
And yes, sometimes we need DeRozan to take over a game, but it's not accurate to say he HAS to shoulder so much of the offense. He simply wants to and takes over, even if it means holding the ball almost exclusively on plays, or taking eight shots in a row even if he's missing. We know this doesn't really sit well with players based on their reactions to not getting the ball when they're open, and players like Carroll alluding to the team playing better when they're sharing the ball and all are contributing.
Frankly, DeRozan has come across as stubborn and arrogant for constantly reverting to a style that suits him to the detriment of the team. And the fact that he's been allowed to go to it time and again speaks volumes as to D-specialist Casey's coddling or inability to get a player to play the right way. For a stretch of several games during the losing streak when DeRozan was passing around or not getting calls, he was downright sulking on the court, and still didn't play a lick of D.
Now that there are other strong voices in the room that don't cater to the way things have been, finally FINALLY he's showing a complete game. So, it turns out he IS in fact capable of it. Makes you wonder what in the blue hell took so long? Certainly wasn't his own initiative or from listening to coaches (yes, he got benched recently, but it's 3/4 into the season, and even then, it was made to seem like he took himself out and supported Norm who was having a good game. What a guy lol).
It was a matter of peer locker room pressure, and if the light has truly turned on, then consistent effort on D will be part of his arsenal going forward. And Tucker will be retained. We'll see how things progress, but so long as Casey is here, DeRozan reverting will be a concern. It's taken too long and too many other voices for him to put in some game-long D effort for it to be a matter of his being so 'humble' and teachable. He just can't get away with his old O-only game and not get called out for it anymore.
