Tall at 1.98m, good at under-the-basket offense and mid-range shooting, is the team's most trusted player in key moments, see these descriptions, which Bulls player you think of? I'm sure most people's answer is Michael Jordan, but now Chicago fans have a new answer: Demar de Rozan.
Chicago is a magical city, and every defender who comes here is given magic, from Jordan to Rose, from Lavin to DeRozan, who seems to have accepted such a favor. In Chicago, DeRozan regained his long-lost sense of play, his strength, basic skills and mid-range skills, coupled with his superb basketball IQ, he averaged a career-high 28.1 points per game this season, ranking fourth in the league, shooting 60.1% from the field, in addition to 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists, which was his best performance in the past five seasons.
Especially in the last seven games, DeRozan has gone completely insane:
Against the 76ers, 18-of-30, he had 45 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists
Against the Suns, he was 16-of-27 and had 38 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
— Against the Hornets, he was 13-of-19 and had 36 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
Against Wolves, he was 14-of-22 and had 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists
Against the Thunder, he had 38 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 12-of-24
Against the Spurs, he had 16-of-24 and had 40 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists
Against the Kings, he had 38 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 16-of-27
In seven games, he scored 35+ in each game, averaging 38.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, shooting 61.0% from the field.
What is the concept?
Jordan has only been the first player in NBA history to do so in seven consecutive games, and Jordan has only scored 35+ in seven consecutive games with a 50% shooting percentage, which, by the way, even Jordan and Chamberlain have not done
It is worth mentioning that DeRozan has only averaged 1.8 three-pointers per game this season, and the last player who could average less than 2 three-point shots per game and scored 28 points was called Michael Jordan.
Here's also how well DeRozan was in the fourth quarter and at key moments:
In the fourth quarter of the season, DeRozan averaged 8.3 points per game, second in the league (8.5 points for the first letter brother); 431 points in total, the league first (the second letter brother 365 points), his shooting percentage increased to 55.0%, and his three-point shooting percentage increased to 39.1 percent;
In key moments of the season (no more than 5 points in the last 5 minutes), DeRozan averaged 4.0 points per game, fourth in the league; 111 points on total, second in the league, shooting 54.2% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range;
The Bulls are also tied for first place in the East with the Heat under Azan's full firepower, and although it is not stable, it is not easy for them to sit in this position more than three months after the start of the game.
The data is more proof of how important DeRozan is to this Bull: when DeRozan was on the floor, the Bulls' offensive and defensive efficiency was 114.1/108.7, and the net victory over the opponent in 100 rounds was 5.4 points; DeRozan was not present, the Bulls' offensive and defensive efficiency was 104.9/110.3, and the net loss of 100 rounds was 5.4 points.
Because of his excellent performance, DeRozan also entered the MVP discussion, and Barkley was outspoken about his love for DeRozan: "Joel Embiid is one of them, he is slightly ahead of Demar DeRozan. Embiid is the NBA's best player this season, with Demar DeRozan second best and Alphabet Brother in third. ”
As a star who has always been underestimated, this time DeRozan can also be regarded as a complete victory for himself in Chicago, to know that his salary this season is only 26 million, ranking 41st in the league, even 980,000 less than his good brother Lowry who was once in the Raptors, but it is under such a piece of decline, DeRozan with a high score performance, a key goal again and again, to re-enter the league's top stars.
This young Bulls, but this is still a good record without the ball brother, Caruso, I hope ThatRozan can drum up and continue to lead this team forward after the All-Star Game. After all, he had suffered too much criticism before, and this year was an opportunity to prove himself thoroughly, and considering that age may also be the last chance, I hope to seize it.