DeMar DeRozan doesn’t need 3-pointers to dominate pick-and-rolls

It’s remarkable how DeMar DeRozan has turned himself into one of the best pick-and-roll scorers in the NBA. With an average of 1.03 points per possession, he’s rubbing shoulders with the likes of Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard, James Harden and Kyrie Irving in pick-and-roll efficiency this season. Each of those players has the ability to take and make 3-pointers off the dribble when teams go under screens, whereas DeRozan generates nearly half of his points from mid-range.

DeRozan isn’t much of a playmaker for others in the pick-and-roll, either. You’d think the combination of him averaging 2.7 assists and less than half a 3-pointer per game over his career would make it easy for defenders to contain him in those situations by going under every screen he’s involved in. But the Toronto Raptors know how to counter teams that try to bait him into settling for 3-pointers by having their bigs flip the direction of their pick at the last second.

Take the possession below as an example. Otto Porter Jr. does exactly what you’d expect to see from a defender guarding DeRozan in the pick-and-roll by going underneath the screen so he can get back in front of DeRozan before he’s able to shake loose for a midrange jumper. The only decent look he can realistically create for himself is a pull-up 3-pointer, which is the one shot defenses will live with him taking.

However, instead of attacking off of the initial action, Jonas Valanciunas re-positions himself to set a screen for DeRozan in the other direction. Because Porter went underneath the first screen, going under the second would give DeRozan the space he needs to get off a midrange jump shot. Just look at how open the middle of the floor is for him to attack in this image compared to the first one:

Porter drops underneath the screen to bait him into settling for a 3-pointer, but DeRozan can now take one dribble inside the perimeter for a jump shot he’s making 46.9 percent of the time. Marcin Gortat has to be careful about how aggressively he closes out, too, with Valanciunas being one of the best scorers off the roll in the NBA.

To better illustrate the value of the re-screen, watch DeRozan and Valanciunas in the video below.

Valanciunas doesn’t even make contact with Justin Holiday on the first screen. DeRozan jabs as if he’s going to the center of the court, Holiday jumps out to ice the pick-and-roll, Valanciunas re-positions himself to eliminate Holiday from the play and DeRozan snakes his way to the elbow for a pull-up jumper. The timing from both DeRozan and Valanciunas is absolutely perfect.

Read More: How Andrew Wiggins became a deadly 3-point shooter

Here’s another example, with Valanciunas taking Kentavious Caldwell-Pope out of the play with a well timed flipped screen.

It’s tough for teams to counter that action because having DeRozan’s defender go over the screen makes it easier for him to knock down a mid-range shot in rhythm. Westbrook (11.5) and DeRozan (11.4) are the only players currently taking more than 10 pull-up attempts per game this season, and DeRozan is making 47.2 percent of those looks compared to 37.6 percent by Westbrook. His game is built around getting to his sweet spots — of which he has many in between the paint and 3-point line — and using his height advantage to shoot over backpedaling defenders.

Once again, the Raptors help him in that regard by angling their screens more towards the baseline when he has the ball outside the perimeter to make it harder for defenders to slide underneath. As long as DeRozan rubs shoulders with his teammate, there’s a very small window for the defender to sneak through.

For comparison’s sake, notice the difference with how Zaza Pachulia sets the following screen on Stephen Curry. The Golden State Warriors are always on the hunt for 3-pointers when they run pick-and-rolls, so Pachulia turning his shoulders parallel to the sideline makes it harder for defenders to move laterally. If the Raptors always took this approach, it would be easier for defenders to get back in front of DeRozan in pick-and-rolls.

The best option to prevent DeRozan from turning the corner in those situations is to switch the bigger defender onto him. But that puts him in another scenario he’s comfortable scoring out of. Only four players score more points per game in isolation this season, and DeRozan ranks in the 87.9 percentile with 1.03 points per possession. With his ability to pull-up and finish at the basket, he is a nightmare for nearly every center to deal with on an island.

Watch DeRozan score easily against Enes Kanter with a step-back jumper in the possession below. Jerami Grant is in position to stick with him on the first screen, but Jakob Poeltl’s second screen forces the Oklahoma City Thunder to switch.

The Raptors can get creative depending on the big man on the floor. Patrick Patterson can pop to the perimeter, while Poeltl and Valanciunas can dive to the basket for layups, dunks or alley-oops. They can even have Kyle Lowry or Terrance Ross act as the screener in order to get a smaller defender on him and give DeRozan the option of taking them to the post. The only other team that can create similar mismatches are the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

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Either way, the idea is the same: Make opponents switch a less capable defender onto DeRozan or fight over the top of the screen for a slim chance at contesting his shot. It’s unconventional when compared to how other players score a large amount of their points in the pick-and-roll, but it’s not like DeRozan has ever been a conventional player. This is just another example of how he continues to dominate a league revolving around the one shot he can’t make.