Toronto Raptors' DeMar DeRozan finishes a dunk during first half NBA basketball action against the Sacramento Kings in Toronto Sunday, January 9, 2011.Darren Calabrese
DeMar DeRozan stood at the centre of a media scrum on Monday, humbly answering a string of questions about his emergence as a major offensive threat for the Toronto Raptors.
The practice jersey flew at him out of nowhere.
When, over a two-week span, you transform from a second-year guard struggling to find consistency to a guy who's averaged more than 21 points a game over the past five games (including a career-high 37 points on Dec. 31), it helps to have a pal like Sonny Weems, the half-naked prankster doing his part to keep DeRozan from feeling too special.
It also helps to have straight-shooting friends and family back home.
"That's the way they remember seeing me play, you know, ever since high school and college. So they just tell me, 'It's about time,'" said the 21-year-old native of Compton, Calif., now the third-best scorer among all NBA sophomores.
(For the record, DeRozan's mother, Diane, said she had called her son from Los Angeles before he headed to Monday's practice at the Air Canada Centre and told him she was proud of him. "It's a blessing," she said over the phone.)
So what's different in 2011? DeRozan listed a number of things that come with having another year under your belt: maturity, confidence and "coaches trusting me."
But the timing suggests the catalyst has been the rash of injuries the Raptors have suffered. With so many teammates hobbled by injury, DeRozan is not just getting more minutes, he's had to step up and be the team's second option behind their leading scorer, Andrea Bargnani.
"I know what he can do," Bargnani said after DeRozan's 28-point effort against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. "I see him practise every day and I'm happy he's finally showing on the court, in games, what he's capable of doing."
"He's starting to put up numbers that are what we need right now," head coach Jay Triano said.
DeRozan, who's averaged 14.8 points a game this season, also said the conditioning and extra bulk he put on last summer is starting to pay off.
"Around this time last year I was so banged up," DeRozan said. "Think I hit the rookie wall or something like that. I remember just being tired … and I wasn't playing as many minutes as I am now," he said of his rookie year, when he averaged 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds.
Of course, his game will have to continue to improve if he's going to be the kind of shooting guard who draws the double-team, or commands more of the referee's respect (which Triano said was a problem against the Celtics this month).
That means being able to create more opportunities for his teammates, becoming a better ball-handler, and being as good on defence as on offence.
"One thing that sometimes happens when you're playing 35, 36 to 40 minutes a game, you look for breaks. Sometimes it's at the defensive end. And that can't happen for him," Triano said, adding he thinks DeRozan has shown the type of work ethic he'll need to get there.
"I'm really grateful for every moment I get," DeRozan said.