NEWSLETTER
The basket might as well be 15 feet closer when DeMar DeRozan lifts his feet off the ground. Every time the 32-year-old lures a defender toward the elbow or free-throw line, it’s hard to expect anything other than a made bucket.
That’s right, a league that has heavily pushed players away from the art of the midrange in recent years has had no effect on DeRozan. In fact, if anything, it’s just made him appear all the more special.
“I think he is probably the best midrange player that we have in today’s game,” Ball told reporters after the Bulls 133-119 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. “He shoots them at a high clip, he’s very efficient, and night in and night out he continues to make tough shots.”
DeRozan’s 28 points against the Hornets was his 17th outing of the season with at least 20 points. He currently averages 25.9 points per game, which is good enough to make him the NBA’s 6th-leading scorer. While the four-time All-Star has certainly hit big shots from all over the floor this season, there is no question the majority of these points have been scored thanks to his midrange dominance.
According to Cleaning the Glass, 64 percent of DeRozan’s field goal attempts this season have come from the midrange, which ranks in the league’s 100th percentile. Only three players have averaged a higher percentage of their field goal attempts from this distance, and three of those players are bench assets who have seen significantly fewer minutes than DeRozan (Ish Smith, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Lou Williams). The other player is HOF-caliber point guard Chris Paul, who has taken 130 fewer attempts from that range than DeRozan so far this season.
Looking at it from an even more obvious light, while NBA Stats calculates the “midrange” a bit differently than Cleaning the Glass, they still list DeRozan as having the most field goal attempts from that zone in the league at 172 shots. Devin Booker is the next closest at 126 attempts.
So as far as shooting the shot goes, it’s pretty damn clear DeRozan leans on the midrange more than anyone in the NBA but how often is he making them? Well, if you’ve watched even one game this season, you know the answer is A LOT.
Out of players who shoot at least 5.0 midrange attempts per game, per NBA States, DeRozan currently holds the 4th-highest field goal percentage.
Kevin Durant – 55.2%
Tyler Herro – 51.1%
Paul George – 46.8%
DeMar DeRozan – 45.3%
Include shots that take place in the paint but outside the restricted area, and DeRozan bumps up to a 47.8 percent clip. His sweet spot, specifically, appears to be right inside the free-throw line, where he is shooting an absurd 57.0 percent on shots 10-14 feet from the basket. Among players who shoot at least 3.0 attempts per game from this range, DeRozan is by far the most efficient at 57.0 percent. Kevin Durant ranks the next closest with a 51.5 percent clip.
Overall, 260 of DeRozan’s 570 points so far this season have come on buckets outside the restricted area and inside the 3-point line. Does all of this make him “the best midrange players that we have in today’s game?” I’d say it’s pretty damn close. Guys like Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul are all right in the mix, as each offers their own set of skills that goes far past a simple look at the numbers. But if we do look at the sheer reliance DeRozan has on the midrange game and the efficiency in which he shoots, he deserves to be right in the mix for that title.
I mean, come on, the dude is even out here making shots like this!
https://twitter.com/BN_Bulls/status/1465512649563807760?s=20
Did the guy get lucky on that one? Maybe. But it still serves as yet another reminder of how unstoppable he can be when he gets to his midrange spots.
