Come one, come all! See the marvelous DeMar DeFrozen and his disappearing act!

[Larry_Russell]

picture it

Raptors versus some team in the west for the finals.

Team out west, with demar on the team, wins the chip and Toronto goes home empty handed.

YOu still smiling?

Absolutely.

Kudos.

I wouldn't. lol

[Smash3]

Too many Toronto fans couldn’t wait for this moment to say I told you so. Such a miserable approach to life, DeRozam has made huge strides in his game since his days in Toronto, and it’s been only one game.

When you have Spurs fan saying the same thing, this is not a Raptor thing. DeMar was praised heavily during the regular season when he was killing it so now when he's not performing to the level of expectation you will get called out for. That's just the way it is

The overwhelming majority of posts gleefully criticizing this mans poor performance are made by Raptors fans. It is done in extremely poor taste.

[Meeksology]

Toronto fans love Demar and will always root for him (sans a few fans). Hes a good dude, hard worker, great attitude. I'll smile my biggest smile if Demar ever wins a ring.

Demar will forever be remembered as a really nice guy and a very hard worker, for sure. He was never supposed to be The Guy, and it shows when he is asked to be, but that says less about him and more about the teams on which he has played feeding into a misconception that he can be a focal offensive player. Even still, he has come a LONG way from the skinny, athletic kid with an acceptable jumper who could really only score in transition or when spoon-fed. It is sort of heartwarming to have watched him making those incremental improvements year to year. Tragic that he cant get that one further step along, almost, because if a person's work ethic could justify him deserving that elevation, that'd be Demar for sure.

picture it

Raptors versus some team in the west for the finals.

Team out west, with demar on the team, wins the chip and Toronto goes home empty handed.

YOu still smiling?

After a few days of crying, binge-sniffing and shameful drinking, ya I'd prolly end up still being happy for the guy by the end.

[Capn'O]

Too many Toronto fans couldn’t wait for this moment to say I told you so. Such a miserable approach to life, DeRozam has made huge strides in his game since his days in Toronto, and it’s been only one game.

Yup. Also, it is pretty clear that the Bulls are pretenders but they had a solid season and DeRozan was a major factor. Not every team can be a contender.

[Capn'O]

Too many Toronto fans couldn’t wait for this moment to say I told you so. Such a miserable approach to life, DeRozam has made huge strides in his game since his days in Toronto, and it’s been only one game.

Yup. Also, it is pretty clear that the Bulls are pretenders but they had a solid season and DeRozan was a major factor. Not every team can be a contender.

[tsherkin]

Bro it has nothing to do with the teams or the coaches or DeMar himself. You guys act like the league is littered with 1a options. The ones that become available end up clicking up neway.

The league just doesn't have many 1a 1b options who you or anyone else would prefer to have that would be available.

He doesn't get enough recognition as an organizational stabilizer and a floor raiser

I mean yes, it has plenty to do with the teams because they invest in a player and then build around him and it doesnt work out,so they blame the player when all along, everyone knew it wasnt going to happen. I agree that Demar acted/acts as a stablizing force for a mediocre to decent franchise.

We have known his weaknesses for a long time. We know the limits involved in building a team around him. You are 100% correct that franchise-level offensive players are a rare commodity, and that you need to try sometimes with weak options. But then people shouldnt kvetch too hard when touching the stove element you know is on causes you a burn, right? If you know it's a bad idea and do it anyway, you lose the right to complain.

[vado]

To all the Raptors fans.. Are you guys forgetting we had Dwayne Casey as our head coach during DeRozan's playoff disappearing acts... By the way Kyle Lowry disappeared as frequently as Lowry during the 2015-2016 season.

Actually it is impressive we managed to get to the Eastern Conference finals with a coach implementing one sole offensive strategy "pound the ball" The fact we were two wins away from the finals.. Despite the players figuring out everything on their own is simply astonishing. If we had Nurse as our head coach during this year.. Who knows..

So, I would think a lot more deeply when analyzing DeRozan's playoff history.

At least when Lowry's offense isn't going he always provided great defense, passing and floor spacing on offense. Demar didn't provide much when his shot wasn't falling. Demar has improved since those days and can pass better. It would be nice to see him do more drive and kicks this series and take advantage of the attention he draws.

[KenoP13]

To all the Raptors fans.. Are you guys forgetting we had Dwayne Casey as our head coach during DeRozan's playoff disappearing acts... By the way Kyle Lowry disappeared as frequently as Lowry during the 2015-2016 season.

Actually it is impressive we managed to get to the Eastern Conference finals with a coach implementing one sole offensive strategy "pound the ball" The fact we were two wins away from the finals.. Despite the players figuring out everything on their own is simply astonishing. If we had Nurse as our head coach during this year.. Who knows..

So, I would think a lot more deeply when analyzing DeRozan's playoff history.

At least when Lowry's offense isn't going he always provided great defense, passing and floor spacing on offense. Demar didn't provide much when his shot wasn't falling. Demar has improved since those days and can pass better. It would be nice to see him do more drive and kicks this series and take advantage of the attention he draws.

Yeah, but Lowry's offense was even worse. Look at the Indiana series in 2015-2016 playoffs. Or the first four games in the Heat series. There is only so much a player can make up in defensive impact when he is shooting 2-11 and putting in 10 points in 40+ minutes played. His assists numbers were pretty awful relative to how much control of the ball he had in most games.

Plus, after his initial struggles in the first round. Derozan put up some pretty good numbers quite a few games. Including in the series against Cavs. The following year he did pretty well against Milwaukee and then Washington in 2017-2018.

[Woodsanity]

Its weird. I always thought Derozan seemed to be a cool guy but I also hated his game at the same time and didn't think the way he played was winning basketball. Unfortunately I have been right for his entire career. His game does not translate well in the modern nba. To be fair Derozan has made some strides. 35% from 3 but only at 2 shots per game this season. I think all SGs need to be at least be a respectable 3 point shooter.

Shooting mid range is fine in smaller quantities. Look at how successful CP3 is at it.

[vado]

To all the Raptors fans.. Are you guys forgetting we had Dwayne Casey as our head coach during DeRozan's playoff disappearing acts... By the way Kyle Lowry disappeared as frequently as Lowry during the 2015-2016 season.

Actually it is impressive we managed to get to the Eastern Conference finals with a coach implementing one sole offensive strategy "pound the ball" The fact we were two wins away from the finals.. Despite the players figuring out everything on their own is simply astonishing. If we had Nurse as our head coach during this year.. Who knows..

So, I would think a lot more deeply when analyzing DeRozan's playoff history.

At least when Lowry's offense isn't going he always provided great defense, passing and floor spacing on offense. Demar didn't provide much when his shot wasn't falling. Demar has improved since those days and can pass better. It would be nice to see him do more drive and kicks this series and take advantage of the attention he draws.

Yeah, but Lowry's offense was even worse. Look at the Indiana series in 2015-2016 playoffs. Or the first four games in the Heat series. There is only so much a player can make up in defensive impact when he is shooting 2-11 and putting in 10 points in 40+ minutes played. His assists numbers were pretty awful relative to how much control of the ball he had in most games.

Plus, after his initial struggles in the first round. Derozan put up some pretty good numbers quite a few games. Including in the series against Cavs. The following year he did pretty well against Milwaukee and then Washington in 2017-2018.

You're cherry picking games. We don't get past the Heat in 2016 without Lowry. Lowry was a better all around player than Demar during his time as a Raptor. There are reasons why Demar was getting benched at the end of his Raptors career.

[KenoP13]

At least when Lowry's offense isn't going he always provided great defense, passing and floor spacing on offense. Demar didn't provide much when his shot wasn't falling. Demar has improved since those days and can pass better. It would be nice to see him do more drive and kicks this series and take advantage of the attention he draws.

Yeah, but Lowry's offense was even worse. Look at the Indiana series in 2015-2016 playoffs. Or the first four games in the Heat series. There is only so much a player can make up in defensive impact when he is shooting 2-11 and putting in 10 points in 40+ minutes played. His assists numbers were pretty awful relative to how much control of the ball he had in most games.

Plus, after his initial struggles in the first round. Derozan put up some pretty good numbers quite a few games. Including in the series against Cavs. The following year he did pretty well against Milwaukee and then Washington in 2017-2018.

You're cherry picking games. We don't get past the Heat in 2016 without Lowry. Lowry was a better all around player than Demar during his time as a Raptor. There are reasons why Demar was getting benched at the end of his Raptors career.

Lowry played awful in three of those games. Including the one that went to OT.

Here are their core statistics for the series:

Lowry PPG 23.4 (fg 38.1%) Reb 5.4 Assist 5.9

Derozan PPG 22.1 (fg 38.1%) Reb 5.6 Assists 2.1

And I could say the exact same thing in the 2016-2017 series against Milwaukee.. Derozan had 3 27+ scoring games and we won 4-2. In one of the games we only scored 92 points and Derozan had 33. We would not have gotten past Milwaukee without his offensive output.

[DreamTeam09]

Bro it has nothing to do with the teams or the coaches or DeMar himself. You guys act like the league is littered with 1a options. The ones that become available end up clicking up neway.

The league just doesn't have many 1a 1b options who you or anyone else would prefer to have that would be available.

He doesn't get enough recognition as an organizational stabilizer and a floor raiser

I mean yes, it has plenty to do with the teams because they invest in a player and then build around him and it doesnt work out,so they blame the player when all along, everyone knew it wasnt going to happen. I agree that Demar acted/acts as a stablizing force for a mediocre to decent franchise.

We have known his weaknesses for a long time. We know the limits involved in building a team around him. You are 100% correct that franchise-level offensive players are a rare commodity, and that you need to try sometimes with weak options. But then people shouldnt kvetch too hard when touching the stove element you know is on causes you a burn, right? If you know it's a bad idea and do it anyway, you lose the right to complain.

So what does that mean, the DeMar shouldn't be in the NBA?? Or that mgmt should try and collect the best assortment of players / schemes to surround your players to try and acquire the chip.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

Hard to believe that is was the same guy that help the Bull go on a tear to reach the top of the conference before the all-star break along with a few clutch winning shot.

[Vampirate]

Toronto fans love Demar and will always root for him (sans a few fans). Hes a good dude, hard worker, great attitude. I'll smile my biggest smile if Demar ever wins a ring.

Demar will forever be remembered as a really nice guy and a very hard worker, for sure. He was never supposed to be The Guy, and it shows when he is asked to be, but that says less about him and more about the teams on which he has played feeding into a misconception that he can be a focal offensive player. Even still, he has come a LONG way from the skinny, athletic kid with an acceptable jumper who could really only score in transition or when spoon-fed. It is sort of heartwarming to have watched him making those incremental improvements year to year. Tragic that he cant get that one further step along, almost, because if a person's work ethic could justify him deserving that elevation, that'd be Demar for sure.

picture it

Raptors versus some team in the west for the finals.

Team out west, with demar on the team, wins the chip and Toronto goes home empty handed.

YOu still smiling?

Obviously you'd rather win the finals than just make it, but if the Raptors are good enough to get beaten in the finals in this scenario, chances are they are good enough to there again lol.

[holdenwait]

so weak.. especially coming from a bulls "fan".. waited all season to start a thread like this probably lol

[BrianFitz]

It's sad to see raptors fans mocking DeRozan.
It doesn't honor much of the fanbase.
DeRozan was a guy that loved playing there and he helped making them a force in the east after being a bad team for years. Cmon raptors fans you can be a lot better than this.

Celtics and Kyrie come to mind?

Not even close to the same situation. Do you even follow NBA?

[KembaWalker]

LeBron wanted this guy?

[cool007]

Seriously OP????

It's a game 1 in the playoffs with Bulls team after 10-11 days off when not only him but ton of players on both teams were way off in this one.

1 game!!! This thread is soooooooooo premature. If he does this again in the next 2 or so games and Bulls lose all of them, yes this thread is warranted but right now, it's way too damn early.

Just need to Chill OP.

[Johnny Bball]

Too many Toronto fans couldn’t wait for this moment to say I told you so. Such a miserable approach to life, DeRozam has made huge strides in his game since his days in Toronto, and it’s been only one game.

Yup. Also, it is pretty clear that the Bulls are pretenders but they had a solid season and DeRozan was a major factor. Not every team can be a contender.

Half of raptor fans are pathetic when it comes to DeRozan, trust me I've had to see it for years. Just a bunch of entitled whiners that still can't get over it.

[Johnny Bball]

I mean, the Lowry/Derozan Raptors got swept by the 1 man Lebron Cavs for a reason. Demar was one of those reasons.

Damn, I know most raptor fans memories are just slanted, but this is just terrible.