NBA Award Races: Could DeMar DeRozan Make a Run for Most Improved Player?

The Toronto Raptors have made two lottery picks in the past two seasons. One of these players was USC Trojan Demar DeRozan, who was picked ninth overall in 2009.

Demar came into Toronto to fill the void the Raptors had at the shooting guard position. His first season was not very impressive as he finished up with numbers of 8.6 PPG, 0.7 APG and 2.9 RPG.

Entering his second season, DeRozan was given a bigger role due to the fact that Chris Bosh had just left the team.

DeRozan began the season with low numbers and was not playing very well. His field goal percentage was up mainly because he would not take many shots during the first few months of the season.

All things changed after one game against the Houston Rockets. In that game, DeRozan piled up a career high of 37 points, which still stands as his highest today.

After that one game, it seemed as if DeRozan received a boost in his game. He seemed to want the ball more, he wanted to take the bigger role for the team.

In doing so, Demar upped his game and his numbers went up dramatically. His scoring got better, he seemed to be hustling for rebounds more, made smart choices when distributing the ball, and started to play better defense.

As of right now, DeRozan is averaging 16.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.8 APG.

If we compare these numbers from last season they go up by slightly in terms of rebounding and assists, but the point scoring goes up alot.

PPG +7.9

APG +1.2

RPG +0.7

The only thing that has gotten worse in terms of stats for DeRozan is his field goal and three point percentage.

With the bigger role comes bigger responsibilities, which means Demar has to take harder and more shots. This could lead to the reason why his FG% is low, but his three point percentage is atrocious. He shoots only 9% from behind the arc, something which must be improved.

If DeRozan can improve his jumper, he can easily be a very versatile scorer and average more than twenty points per game next season, much like Andrea Bargnani.

Although the chances of DeRozan winning the award is slim against the likes of Eric Gordon and Derick Rose, DeRozan might have a chance at winning the award.

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