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Why DeMar DeRozan is already the greatest Raptor ever
![[image loading]](https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/raptors/analysis/2018/01/06/why-demar-derozan-is-already-the-greatest-raptor-ever/derozan_dish.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x748.jpg)
DeMar DeRozan is the best player to ever wear a Toronto Raptors uniform.
There.
It’s been said.
With all due respect to Vince Carter — and it is impossible to minimize his impact on the franchise, the city, the country and the sport — DeRozan has become as important, as good and vastly more successful, and should now stand atop the pantheon.
No. 10 is No. 1.
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Vince Carter was an absolute phenom in the early 2000s. Rookie of the Year, Slam Dunk champion. He was everywhere, Nike commercials, Gatorade commercials, Sports Illustrated covers. Everybody was wearing his jersey. He definitely put Toronto on the map. I'm not sure what exactly DeRozan has done to surpass that but congrats I guess.
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i feel sorry for Dallas and Charlotte. seems like they have so many close losses. 
Minnesota's defense seems to be a lot better when Tyus Jones gets starter minutes. I wonder why that is? 
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On January 08 2018 13:44 BlackJack wrote:
Vince Carter was an absolute phenom in the early 2000s. Rookie of the Year, Slam Dunk champion. He was everywhere, Nike commercials, Gatorade commercials, Sports Illustrated covers. Everybody was wearing his jersey. He definitely put Toronto on the map. I'm not sure what exactly DeRozan has done to surpass that but congrats I guess.
Individual success and fame, yes VC might well be the very best Raptor. But I think the point of the article is that DD has done more for the success of the team than any other Raptor has. And if he stays as a Raptor in his prime, with help from Lowry and some key acquisitions, the Raptors may find meaningful success soon.
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On January 08 2018 13:11 Twinkle Toes wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2018 05:31 A3th3r wrote:
ya but Wiggins is like 21 years old, I hardly think he would be a potential game changer at that age. Butler is the reason the T-Wolves are winning games and are out of the pit of despair a.k.a. the wild-card playoff race that they probably will be in next year This is what Wiggin's hater miss. Sure he might have been overvalued on draft night, but he is a good player with a lot of upside.
4 years in and you're still talking upside. You are easily duped.
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On January 08 2018 22:18 JimmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2018 18:18 Twinkle Toes wrote:On January 08 2018 13:44 BlackJack wrote:
Vince Carter was an absolute phenom in the early 2000s. Rookie of the Year, Slam Dunk champion. He was everywhere, Nike commercials, Gatorade commercials, Sports Illustrated covers. Everybody was wearing his jersey. He definitely put Toronto on the map. I'm not sure what exactly DeRozan has done to surpass that but congrats I guess. Individual success and fame, yes VC might well be the very best Raptor. But I think the point of the article is that DD has done more for the success of the team than any other Raptor has. And if he stays as a Raptor in his prime, with help from Lowry and some key acquisitions, the Raptors may find meaningful success soon. ... My guess is VC will be the better NBA player when we look back on their careers but DD will be the better Raptor.
I'm not so sure I agree. I'm a big VC fan but his greatness comes from his "its over" dunking highlight power and not superstar basketball skills. The points made by @BlackJack fall into this - "Nike commercials, Gatorade commercials, Sports Illustrated covers. Everybody was wearing his jersey." - are all side effects of his never seen before out of this world dunking power.
To be fair, "greatest raptor ever" is contentious. Does it mean most popular player or the best popular player? If the former, I don't think anyone who has watched 2000s VC will ever be convinced there is any other Raptor can be more popular than him. If the latter, even at his pre-prime stage, DD already seems more skillful and impactful. The only question now is will he stay with the Raptors and will he continue to improve and reach his potential as franchise superstar player.
In addition, my bias take on it is that DD is mild-mannered Kobe light. His skills and game style allows him to improve and excel exponentially. Anyone who is surprised that he has continuously improved - adding threes, driving more, and being more tactical with getting fouls is a knows nothing about the game neither in theory nor practice.
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On January 08 2018 22:34 Ace wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2018 13:11 Twinkle Toes wrote:On January 08 2018 05:31 A3th3r wrote:
ya but Wiggins is like 21 years old, I hardly think he would be a potential game changer at that age. Butler is the reason the T-Wolves are winning games and are out of the pit of despair a.k.a. the wild-card playoff race that they probably will be in next year This is what Wiggin's hater miss. Sure he might have been overvalued on draft night, but he is a good player with a lot of upside. 4 years in and you're still talking upside. You are easily duped.
Serious questions. I'm not a Wolves fan at all, and I'd be lucky to watch a Wolves game in a season, even in the playoffs unless vs. Spurs or Mavs or Kobe-Lakers. I speak of "upside" blindly, mostly based on the stray Wiggins highlighs.
1. Is he bad according to how high he got drafted?
2. Is he bad for his age/years in the league compared to contemporaries?
3. Is he hopelessly bad, like there is no chance he can improve and be good at all?
If you could explain why, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
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If you look at stats, absent injury, stars normally take a huge leap in year 2 or year 3 of getting significant playing time. Somebody who hasn't taken a huge leap yet in year 4 probably grades out at a role player at most.
PPG is worthless. His shooting efficiency numbers are still really bad and he doesn't get enough rebounds/assists/steals/blocks that somebody that is supposed to have his athleticism should. Somebody who has true star potential shouldn't be taking this long without showing significant improvement.
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ya, fringe, boxscore-stat-stuffing allstar à la Demar Derozan before 2017.
that's what i've been saying for over a year.
its good to see wiggins finally putting in a full effort on defense. its made a big difference. the guy was so horrible last year.
this is the 1st year Derozan's offense has way more than made up for his weak defense. Thing is the 4 other guys who play shooting guard for the Raptors are above average or better defenders so it gives Derozan a god-awful ON/OFF defensive rating.
Derozan's defensive rating ON/OFF is 108.1/100.3 ... ouch.
i don`t think he is as bad on defense has his on/off indicates. i just think FVV, Powell, Lowry, and Wright are a lot better than Derozan.
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Efficiency varies with playing era so making these direct comparisons between ~2001 data and ~2017 data is a waste of time.
so comparing Jayson Tatum to Larry Bird using these boxscore stats is a waste of time. i mean.. if we did that we'd conclude Jayson Tatum is going to be 10 times better than Larry Bird. so ya.
Taj Gibson was +46 this week.
Brandon Ingram (LAL) was a minus-49 in four games last week. Ingram has put up some big boxscore #s this year.
East went 11-5 against the West this week. So its 123-116 in favour of the East.
found this interesting...
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/0UomKMz.jpg)
Philly and Boston are only playing 1 time this week. It'll allow guys like Embiid to recover a bit.
Source :
http://www.nba.com/powerrankings#/
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at this point: Lowry, Derozan, Wright, Van Vleet, and Powell are all interchangeable guards. no one is definitely a PG and no one is definitely a shooting guard.
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On January 08 2018 22:52 Twinkle Toes wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2018 22:34 Ace wrote:On January 08 2018 13:11 Twinkle Toes wrote:On January 08 2018 05:31 A3th3r wrote:
ya but Wiggins is like 21 years old, I hardly think he would be a potential game changer at that age. Butler is the reason the T-Wolves are winning games and are out of the pit of despair a.k.a. the wild-card playoff race that they probably will be in next year This is what Wiggin's hater miss. Sure he might have been overvalued on draft night, but he is a good player with a lot of upside. 4 years in and you're still talking upside. You are easily duped. Serious questions. I'm not a Wolves fan at all, and I'd be lucky to watch a Wolves game in a season, even in the playoffs unless vs. Spurs or Mavs or Kobe-Lakers. I speak of "upside" blindly, mostly based on the stray Wiggins highlighs. 1. Is he bad according to how high he got drafted? 2. Is he bad for his age/years in the league compared to contemporaries? 3. Is he hopelessly bad, like there is no chance he can improve and be good at all? If you could explain why, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
All 3
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8D
From Woj on Trade Deadline:
Two years ago this week, the Denver Nuggets fetched two first-round picks to send modestly talented center Timofey Mozgov to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is unlikely the Clippers will get that for their All-NBA center, largely because the dynamics of trading picks for players has changed.
Crazy to think how that was just 2 years ago. And sounds so ridiculous now.
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On January 09 2018 06:51 Ace wrote:Show nested quote +On January 08 2018 22:52 Twinkle Toes wrote:On January 08 2018 22:34 Ace wrote:On January 08 2018 13:11 Twinkle Toes wrote:On January 08 2018 05:31 A3th3r wrote:
ya but Wiggins is like 21 years old, I hardly think he would be a potential game changer at that age. Butler is the reason the T-Wolves are winning games and are out of the pit of despair a.k.a. the wild-card playoff race that they probably will be in next year This is what Wiggin's hater miss. Sure he might have been overvalued on draft night, but he is a good player with a lot of upside. 4 years in and you're still talking upside. You are easily duped. Serious questions. I'm not a Wolves fan at all, and I'd be lucky to watch a Wolves game in a season, even in the playoffs unless vs. Spurs or Mavs or Kobe-Lakers. I speak of "upside" blindly, mostly based on the stray Wiggins highlighs. 1. Is he bad according to how high he got drafted? 2. Is he bad for his age/years in the league compared to contemporaries? 3. Is he hopelessly bad, like there is no chance he can improve and be good at all? If you could explain why, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. All 3
Do you mind explaining why? Thanks
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EPT
