The Chicago Bulls have disappointed for the past year and a half. After a roaring start in 2021, Lonzo Ball went down with an injury, and the Bulls haven’t been the same since.
While the Bulls haven’t found much playoff success, DeMar DeRozan has revitalized his career, making two straight All-Star teams.
He climbed back up the NBA mountain via his clutch scoring and elite mid-range game, which completely contradicts the general idea of smart offense in today’s NBA. But it’s hard to argue against the results he’s produced in a Chicago uniform.
However, according to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, DeRozan is one of the most overrated players in the NBA.
“And yet, he was an easy inclusion on our list because DeRozan’s individual bucket-getting prowess has led to precious little team success and comes with a level of defensive ineptitude that basically cancels out (at best) the value he provides as a scorer,” Hughes wrote. “Throw in a career-long reluctance to work off the ball or shoot threes, and DeRozan has essentially pigeonholed himself as a high-usage weapon who limits his team’s offensive ceiling and can’t scale down into a supporting role because he doesn’t contribute enough in other areas.
“In 11 of his first 12 seasons, DeRozan’s teams had higher net ratings with him off the floor than on. Though his Chicago Bulls have played better with him in the game than out over the last two years, the defensive issues have persisted, and the friction between him and Zach LaVine is a direct result of DeRozan’s inability to help when he’s not operating as a first option.
“Limited in key ways and tricky to integrate into a team concept, DeRozan is an elite individual scorer who has yet to prove he can do enough in other areas to drive success.”
Obviously, anyone who watches DeRozan play knows how talented he is, but Hughes’ point rings true — the mid-range-heavy offense hasn’t yielded great results.
