There will be a time when DeMar DeRozan will sit back, kick the feet up, and really take a deep dive into what he’s accomplished in this recent six-game historic stretch.
That time wasn’t on Tuesday.
After all, the Bulls veteran was still dealing with how to stay afloat near the top of the Eastern Conference short-handed across the board. And there’s his own workload to keep an eye on, as the minutes per game continue to pile up for the 32 year old.
So basking in the glory of tying a guy named Wilt Chamberlain? Impressive, but for another day.
That’s what’s been so great about DeRozan both on and off the court for this Bulls team. Stats are great, awards and honors right there, but if it doesn’t result in wins, what’s the point?
The real focus is on the next opponent, their weaknesses, and knowing how to expose them.
An art that DeRozan has become very disciplined at.
“I’m no knockout puncher, but I want to wear you down because I know I can go the length, however long I need to go,” DeRozan said of his mentality, when discussing a basketball game and excelling in the final quarter of it.
If he sounded like a boxer that would make sense. DeRozan is a student of the sweet science as much as he is a student of basketball. So when he tells a story about sitting and talking with “Floyd” on setting up opponents, he’s talking Mayweather, not Tim.
“I remember having a conversation with Floyd about how he approached fights, and for him it’s about collecting data in the first couple of rounds, about what his opponent likes to do, how he can break him down,” DeRozan said. “I always talk about the championship rounds when it comes to the seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, when you kind of hear your opponent breathing a little bit harder, dropping the hands. That’s the same approach I take with basketball, just picking ’em apart, understanding how the defense is going to play me, the game flow. It’s just me collecting so much data early in the game and trying to pick it apart as the game goes on.”
That’s why DeRozan leads the entire NBA in total fourth-quarter scoring, sitting at 431 points with Giannis Antetokounmpo behind him with 365.
But the last six games for DeRozan is what’s had the Association buzzing, considering he’s scored at least 35 points and shot at least 50% from the field in that span, tying only Chamberlain for the longest streak in NBA history.
DeRozan has actually averaged 38.7 points on 61% shooting over his last six games, with the Bulls going 4-2 in the standings. Maybe even more impressive? DeRozan has kept his teammates involved, handing out 5.5 assists per game in that span.
That’s what coach Billy Donovan was talking about when he described what DeRozan accomplished as “mind boggling.”
“I think that speaks even more to his greatness,” Donovan said. “The fact that, ‘OK, I’m on this incredible roll.’ Instead of trying to take on two guys, it’s like, ‘OK, someone else is open. Let me find the open man.’ ”
An idea that really puts a smile on DeRozan’s face.
“To be honest, I love getting hot just for the simple fact of I don’t have to keep shooting,” DeRozan added. “I can draw the attention and get other guys shots. That’s kind of my approach to the fourth quarters.”