The fact that 32-year-old Demar DeRozan has a new life in the Chicago Bulls is a fact known to everyone, but not many people understand why this is so. Some people say that because they have eaten the dividends of the rules, the league has a better living space for mid-range pitchers in order to limit three-point cheating fouls. Some people say that it is the adjustment of DeRozan's mentality and the re-improvement of technical movements. Of course, some people will say that it is because there are better helpers around to share the defensive pressure.
Is that right? All right, but not all. DeRozan did eat the rules dividend, but so did Paul and Durant, the masters of mid-range. But Paul and Durant are not as eye-catching as DeRozan. The Bulls do have better teammates who can open up space for him, but DeRozan's mid-range jumper doesn't matter who the defender in front of him is.
In fact, the reason why DeRozan really evolved is thanks to Spurs head coach Popovich. Why? In the last season of the Spurs, Popovich put DeRozan in the fourth position, you know, DeRozan's height is only 1 meter 98, and it is indeed a bit reluctant to put it in the fourth position, but in fact, Popovich did this to make the team have faster speed and let DeRozan have a better shooting environment.
If DeRozan still plays the second position, then there is no three-point threat, naturally it will become a weakness, all teams, will let DeRozan shoot three points, then DeRozan's threat on the offensive end will plummet. But now that DeRozan is in the fourth position, it means that as long as DeRozan takes the ball, he enters his offensive range, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the opponent's defense, and for his teammates, especially the team's three-pointer, then the defensive pressure will plummet, and the opportunity for empty three-pointers will naturally increase.
The 32-year-old DeRozan, from the second to the fourth position, Popovich's great masterpiece. This is where the popovich taste comes in. In the final seasons in Toronto, DeRozan was actually already polishing the three-pointer, but after coming to the Spurs, Popovich made DeRozan himself again. Now that he's with the Chicago Bulls, coach Donovan has followed Popovich's idea of letting DeRozan play in the fourth or third position. So, we see that DeRozan's average this season has come to 27.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists, and the title of king of the final quarter.
In the high-order stats, DeRozan's offensive contribution value is third in the league, behind Jokic and Alphabet Brother. DeRozan, who has no three-pointers, has reached such a terrible level of offense, which shows how much Popovich's decision has had a big impact on the change in his career.