Though he averaged at least 16.5 points per game over his last three seasons, DeMar DeRozan was often viewed as a selfish, one-dimensional player, a shooting guard with limited shooting range.Ĭoming into the 2013-14 season, his potential was being hampered by Rudy Gay, another volume scorer who struggled from beyond the arc. Can DeRozan's breakout season be attributed, at least in part, to Lowry? This isn't DeRozan's first season playing with Lowry, but the fact that the rise in his play has coincided so perfectly with that of his point guard is intriguing. It's not that DeRozan was undeserving (he was certainly better than Joe Johnson), but he had the benefit of being a popular homegrown player, unlike Lowry. That honor goes to point guard Kyle Lowry, who was left off the All-Star team in what was by far the biggest snub in the Eastern Conference this season. Unlike Carter, however, DeRozan isn't the consensus best player on his own team this season. Now, Toronto is on the path to the franchise's first division title since 2007, and DeRozan was the first Raptor's guard named to the NBA All-Star team since Vince Carter.
