What's preventing Demar DeRozan from making that leap into a Superstardom like Harden years ago?

[Gil]

He's one of the most skilled players in the League in terms of shotmaking ability, footwork & getting to the line, he's also a master in the midrange like Kobe. In terms of getting buckets I can't think of many perimeter players better than him at it.

Yet it feels like something's missing in his game. His advanced stats aren't the best & I feel like he should be averaging 29/30 PPG easy with his talent.

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[Cavaliers2]

Well I think the thing that's missing is pretty obvious isn't it? He can't make threes

[XxIronChainzxX]

Apart from his defense, which is awful, it's i) his shotmaking ability, which is not great (he's a bad midrange shooter and an awful 3 pt shooter) and ii) his playmaking (instead of being strong to elite like Harden, it's not good). DD also struggles a lot with the trap, hence his awful postseasons.

Just because he shoots a lot from midrange doesn't mean he's any good.

[JDR720]

he just needs a beard and shooting ability.

[phanman]

Well I think the thing that's missing is pretty obvious isn't it? He can't make threes

Nor is a good play-maker.. though he has made some slight improvements in that department in this season. He is also a below-average rebounder for a guy of his physical gifts

[Mike87]

The three ball, handles, footwork and playmaking ability separates them imo

[RCM88x]

Being absolutely awful defensively. Harden was never bad he just gave poor effort because of the load he carried offensively.

Have an offensive game that isn't conductive of team success (poor passer, poor 3pt shooter, poor off ball scorer, poor catch and shoot). He has basically one trick and even if he shoots 60% he still is only really hitting 2s.

But most of all I think Harden is an extremely smart player who has been willing to improve and expand his game. DeRozan is not that, and while he has improved his game, he hasn't expanded it.

Toronto is 13 pp/100 better when he's not on the court. Obviously if this was just a trend this season I wouldn't really value it. But he's had a negative on/off for 6 straight seasons. He's just not a high impact player and probably never will be at this point.

He probably could average more PPG, but Toronto would likely become a worse offensive team in the process.

[JunkYardDog6ix]

He's one of the most skilled players in the League in terms of shotmaking ability, footwork & getting to the line, he's also a master in the midrange like Kobe. In terms of getting buckets I can't think of many perimeter players better than him at it.

Yet it feels like something's missing in his game. His advanced stats aren't the best & I feel like he should be averaging 29/30 PPG easy with his talent.

Watch on YouTube

lol are you serious ? I'll point out the key factors :

1. He's a mediocre ball handler , although he has improved over his career ( he couldn't dribble at all as a rookie ) , but he is still nowhere close to Harden , and nowhere near where a star wing should be.

2. He's a terrible defender - Surprisingly for his body type, he's one of the worst defenders in the league , and I mean this literally.

3. He's not explosive - People think he's explosive because he competed in a few dunk contests but athleticism/= explosiveness. Compared to superstar wing players that are athletics , he is nowhere close. He is very slow with his motions , almost never dunks in games unless its a fast break 1-0 ( even a 2-1 fast break he will settle for a layup ). He just doesn't have explosiveness at all. He needs to have an empty gym to show off his "hops"

4. He can't shoot threes.

5. He's soft

6. All he can do is shoot fadeaway 2s - Not a great rebounder or passer , so pretty much hes a fadeway 2 specialist. Screams superstar to you ?

[RebeliousKing19]

Ability to create for other guys and shoot 3s, he hasn't shown progress from 3 basically ever and that allows defenders to try and take away his inside game.

[taj2133]

no three point shot he is a good number 2 option

[cupcakesnake]

pretty limited player. extremely elite at the one thing he does well. below average at everything else. think about how Harden well Harden can shoot and pass, the answers to your question are pretty simple.

[MikeM]

Apart from his defense, which is awful, it's i) his shotmaking ability, which is not great (he's a bad midrange shooter and an awful 3 pt shooter) and ii) his playmaking (instead of being strong to elite like Harden, it's not good). DD also struggles a lot with the trap, hence his awful postseasons.

Just because he shoots a lot from midrange doesn't mean he's any good.

What's he good at bud?

[Prez]

Harden's combination of vision, timing, change of pace, handles, and range at his size is just unlike anything else in the league right now. There's no shame in not being as good as Harden, he's a legit all-time great offensively.

[ProfessorJM]

Being absolutely awful defensively. Harden was never bad he just gave poor effort because of the load he carried offensively.

Have an offensive game that isn't conductive of team success (poor passer, poor 3pt shooter, poor off ball scorer, poor catch and shoot). He has basically one trick and even if he shoots 60% he still is only really hitting 2s.

But most of all I think Harden is an extremely smart player who has been willing to improve and expand his game. DeRozan is not that, and while he has improved his game, he hasn't expanded it.

Toronto is 13 pp/100 better when he's not on the court. Obviously if this was just a trend this season I wouldn't really value it. But he's had a negative on/off for 6 straight seasons. He's just not a high impact player and probably never will be at this point.

He probably could average more PPG, but Toronto would likely become a worse offensive team in the process.

This nailed what I was going to say...

[Gil]

Well I think the thing that's missing is pretty obvious isn't it? He can't make threes

Different eras yes but 2 of the 3 greatest SGs ever weren't great 3 point shooters either. Also, I know he's a wing but Giannis is dominating games despite not having a shot all.

[meekrab]

Defense and range.

[homecourtloss]

He's one of the most skilled players in the League in terms of shotmaking ability, footwork & getting to the line, he's also a master in the midrange like Kobe. In terms of getting buckets I can't think of many perimeter players better than him at it.

Yet it feels like something's missing in his game. His advanced stats aren't the best & I feel like he should be averaging 29/30 PPG easy with his talent.

Watch on YouTube

Master of the midrange? That’s not going to help you much today.

Harden shoots the most difficult threes (at a relatively high % this year) and creates off the pick and roll for others to shoot threes or for Capela to get dunks. DeRozan can’t do any of these things, i.e., the most useful in offensive basketball.

[Patches Perry]

This is like asking why Carmelo Anthony can't take the next step to becoming LeBron James. There is a large gap in skills and a large difference between the ears.

[homecourtloss]

Well I think the thing that's missing is pretty obvious isn't it? He can't make threes

Different eras yes but 2 of the 3 greatest SGs ever weren't great 3 point shooters either. Also, I know he's a wing but Giannis is dominating games despite not having a shot all.

You say “different eras” seemingly off-handedly and dismissively. His skill set isn’t well suited for this era.

Giannis? No, he can’t shoot, but he can grab a rebound and take a few dribbles and be at the opponents’ rim and he’s also a defensive force. Not comparable at all.

[313 Professor]

A part of me feels like Derozan needs to get away from Lowry to shine sort of how Harden got away from Westbrook. I really need to watch more Toronto games but I'm interested to see what people say. On my fantasy team he's put up some solid assist numbers and hit more threes than I expected. Been high on Derozan from a distance for a while now, but I just never get around to watch Toronto.