DeMar DeRozan’s Relationship with the 3-Point Line (and Other Bulls Bullets)

I got a round of golf in by myself yesterday and it may have been the most relaxing thing I’ve done in months. No one was around to see me shank a few drives. No one cared if a played a hole twice. No one could hear me scream “I HATE CONTINUITY” for a mile. It was just me, the green, and a whole lot of eagles.

What? You don’t know if I eagled every hole! There were no witnesses to say otherwise, so ha!

  • While it’s unclear if DeMar DeRozan has started his famous early-morning workouts this offseason, we did get a nice glimpse of him in the laboratory on Instagram. NBA skills coach Johnny Stephene shared some footage of the Bulls’ All-Star draining some catch-and-shoot 3s before sinking a free throw and finishing with a dunk. We’ve seen DeRozan, Coby White, and Dalen Terry work with Stephene in the past. You can check out the clip on his Instagram story here or via the Twitter account Nothin’ But Bull which reposted the video here:
  • I’m not going to sit here and read too much into DeRozan draining a few 3-pointers. I’m positive he takes them and makes them all the time in practice. Heck, I’m certain Andre Drummond can sink his fair share of downtown buckets in an open gym. What matters most is what you do when the regular season tips off, and DeRozan has remained rather reluctant to let it fly.
  • While we’ve at least seen a significant uptick in his 3-point attempts since his days in San Antonio, comparing the two is like going from a grain of rice to a grape. DeRozan has shot an equal 142 attempts in each of his first two seasons in Chicago. He made 50 in 2021-22 and 46 in 2022-23. All in all, that comes out to a 33.8 percent success rate. Could be worse. Could be a lot better.
  • I’ve tried to resist being the guy that calls for DeRozan to chuck up more 3s. Not only is he one of the NBA’s most efficient and lethal scorers already, but he also sits 39th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. In other words, he’s put together a HOF-caliber career during the thick of the 3-point era without giving in. But while he may not need to take a higher volume of those shots to be successful, we can’t necessarily say the same about the team as a whole. And, to his credit, he did acknowledge that during his end-of-season press conference a couple of months back.
  • “You got to break it down and look at it from that aspect [helping the team], as well. What more I can do team-wise and incorporate that. I’d be a fool not to even look at, consider that aspect of it. So just me being a student of the game, that’s going to be called on and called fo us to be better. I’m all for it,” DeRozan said.

  • Taking the fewest 3-pointers a night for the second season in a row, there is no question the Bulls need a face-lift on the offensive end. Rarely in today’s league can you truly contend without adequate shooting on the roster. So while I’m encouraged to hear that DeRozan is open to taking more shots from downtown, I am still concerned about whether or not he can do it at a high enough level that makes it worth it. Again, 33 percent isn’t the worst, but it also isn’t enough to instill confidence. Not to mention, he actually shot slightly worse on his catch-and-shoot attempts (32.5) last season.
  • Perhaps all he needs is an offseason where he focuses a bit more on that show. After all, no one can deny he has a superb jumper. But it’s hard to believe or expect that he can make an impactful enough jump in this area to really make the difference the Bulls need. The guy has averaged just 1.5 attempts from behind the arc per game in his career. He’s heading into Year 15. Things aren’t about to change that much.
  • “Obviously, I think next year there will be more frequent 3s from me without a doubt,” DeRozan said. “I always had this vision in my career as I got older I wanted to be able to just continue to expand my game. That’s a main priority and a focus for me, just to be able to capitalize on as I get older,” DeRozan said.

  • Anyway, skimming through the latest Bulls Talk Podcast for any news from The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, I noticed they also discuss DeRozan’s shooting a bit. Overall, it’s a good talk about the pickle this team has put themselves into. Make sure to give that a listen here:
  • Zach LaVine did a small interview with Complex about the importance of pickup basketball. Fellow New Balance athletes Tyrese Maxey and Dejounte Murray also joined him, so give that a read here. I think LaVine’s comment about how open gyms expose young athletes to an important level of versatility is well said. You just never really know what your role is going to be nor when your name is going to be called. Not to mention, the competition always varies from game to game. While some might be a breeze, you always have to be ready for things to get tough.
  • Would ya look at that! Both Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu rank top 10 in ball screen navigation, according to BBall Index’s metric.
  • I got to imagine Dosunmu has learned a thing or two about getting past the screener from Caruso. When you watch both these guys defend, they do a really great job approaching the screener with decisiveness and aggressiveness. Both also have this tendency to play rather slippery at times, particularly Dosunmu. They can squeeze over the top of screens and use a combination of speed and length to stay on the ballhandler. Caruso is obviously the best defender on the team, but we shouldn’t overlook what Dosunmu has shown in his first two seasons in the NBA. One of the biggest reasons the Bulls should prioritize re-signing him is because of his defensive potential.
  • Speaking of which, I just remembered this awesome moment …
  • https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1610828183976251393?s=20

  • We got some Chicago Sky news. According to Sportico, 10 percent of the team just sold to Laura Ricketts for an $85 million valuation. That’s the second-highest valuation we’ve seen a stack sold for in WNBA history. The Storm sits first with a $130 million valuation in a sale from earlier this year.
  • By the way, if you aren’t watching yet, you should be. This is a really fun team.
  • Gatorade for life!? Sign me up!
  • Say what you will about Zach LaVine, but that guy is one of the most athletically jaw-dropping players to watch.
  • OHHHHH BOYYYYY
  • Mandatory minicamp starts soon!
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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