DeMar DeRozan has been having a “take no prisoner” attitude thus far in the regular season. Despite one of the toughest summers of his career, he’s been making the city of San Antonio proud.
From an organization perspective, DeRozan is a guy that the Spurs wanted to have. With the countless problems Kawhi Leonard had given them, it all panned out when they pulled the trigger on a trade to swap the two. The Spurs are different when it comes to fan base and team chemistry. The fans love their players and rally behind them through win or loss. With a coach like Gregg Popovich it’s almost impossible not to like him. We all saw first hand how Pop made his transition easier when we saw the two in USA basketball practice. It was clear that San Antonio valued him, but the question that rose for me is does he want to be a Spur?
Over the past three games, DeRozan has answered that question. Putting up an impressive 29.3 points and nine assists through three games proved that he’s ready to compete at the highest level possible. It may be too early to make judgements, but he’s making a statement this season. Through his first three games with the Raptors last season, he put up 23 points and 4 assists.
In San Antonio, he has more options around him in LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, and Patty Mills. The team is more sharpened in aspects of morale and unity. They embrace DeRozan, something that only Lowry did through his time in Toronto. The way he went out showed me that Toronto treated DeRozan as a business decision and less of a person who spent seven years with the organization.
Last night, he played one of his best games I’ve seen in awhile notching 32, 14, and eight. More importantly, he kept the Los Angeles Lakers winless. I’ve known DeRozan has been an All-Star caliber player, but at this rate, he can be in the conversation for one of the top players in the league. Maybe this is what DeRozan needed; a way out. A way for him to utilize his talent and skill in a way that he couldn’t in Toronto. He’s similar to James Harden in a sense that all they needed was a change of scenery to reach their full potential.
Let me bring some facts that will happen this season for the Spurs:
Spurs will make the playoffs
DeRozan will average 25+ points
Spurs will have at least two All-Stars
Care to debate? DM me @JMan_Persources