OKC Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander’s main competition as ASG injury replacement
Versus the mid-range assassin DeRozan:
The argument to add DeRozan is a bit more complex. The Spurs reside on the playoff ladder and are the one playoff seeded team in the West without a representative.
Like Chris Paul, DeRozan plays the role of veteran leader for his young teammates.
Although his personal production is slightly lower in his 12th season it’s not because he’s lost a step. Rather, it’s because Gregg Popovich has tasked him to be more of a playmaker.
His 6.9 assists per game are a career-high. That figure may drop however as Derrick White has only participated in eight games.
Similarly, when the Spurs enter clutch time DeRozan is typically the player Pop puts the ball in the hands of to either score or make the best play for a teammate to score.DeRozan is a master at drawing contact and getting to the line, a trait he honed over his 12 seasons.
| Rk | Player | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeMar DeRozan | 13.4 | .488 | 1.9 | .333 | 11.5 | .514 | .512 | 6.8 | .893 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 0.8 | 19.8 |
| 2 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 15.5 | .506 | 4.7 | .407 | 10.8 | .550 | .568 | 6.6 | .783 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 22.8 |
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 2/24/2021.
He’s been cited as the mid-range assassin for years so the fact SGA takes approximately the same attempts in the mid-range but shoots a higher percentage was a nice surprise.