It’s easy to forget “San Antonio DeMar.’’
When discussing the DeMar DeRozan career path, it feels like he spent a lifetime in Toronto, and then rolled out of the golf cart to finish off the back-9 with the Bulls.
But for three seasons with the Spurs and coach Gregg Popovich, DeRozan really learned his craft, on and off the court.
“I learned so much more about myself as a player, what I was able and capable of doing,” DeRozan told the Sun-Times back in the 2021 season. “It grew me more as a leader.”
And it made him a lethal playmaker.
In his three years in the Alamo, DeRozan averaged 6.2 assists per game, highlighted by a career-best 6.9 assists in the 2020-21 season. That included reaching double-digit assists 14 times that year, including a 14-assist game.
So handing out a season-high 10 assists in Saturday’s 124-118 win over New Orleans was really nothing new for the veteran.
Old hat, actually. And needed.
“Just being unselfish, pushing the pace,” DeRozan said of his mentality in the victory. “Not worrying about mistakes we may make defensively. Understanding reads, and everybody is shooting the ball with confidence.
“It’s a testament to everybody understanding what needs to be done, the tempo it needs to be done at.”
As well as what could be a sneak preview.
For the second straight game, the Bulls were without Zach LaVine (right foot). For the second straight game – the first with DeRozan returning from a tweaked ankle – the Bulls registered 32 assists.
While the tempo was a bit more high velocity in the win over the Bucks, DeRozan & Co. still picked their spots to put the Pelicans on their heels.
“These two games should be a blueprint of us feeding off that,” DeRozan said. “We’ve got to get hungry from here on out.”
Soon getting used to life without LaVine on a more permanent basis.
It’s not if LaVine will be traded, but when. The Bulls want to move on from the two-time All-Star, and LaVine wants to be elsewhere. There were several reports last week that there is no market for LaVine just yet, but that’s because there is no market, period. It’s the beginning of December, and most of the Association is still evaluating rosters and a path to the postseason.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has made it a habit to be deliberate in his moves, and a LaVine trade won’t be any different. Unless there’s an unforeseen offer made in the next three weeks, expect the LaVine drama to drag on well into January, and possibly closer to the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
Until then, however, it will be on DeRozan and his teammates to try and get LaVine to buy into this style of play on a more consistent basis. Sharing the ball, playing with tempo, and less hero ball.
At this point LaVine needs to be all in, or he’s simply in the way.
“The spirit is there, the fight is there and offensively what is encouraging to me the last two games is we’ve scored (at least) 120 points,” coach Billy Donovan said. “A lot of that has to do with the tempo, pace we are getting up and down the floor. I’ve been talking about that awhile and the biggest thing is can we sustain that. It’s the challenge.”
Not for “San Antonio DeMar.”
