Nerdy Basketball

This season DeMar DeRozan has taken a leap. Leaps don't often happen for 32 year olds, but DeMar doesn't seem to care. Over his first 12 years in the NBA, DeRozan scored more than 27 points per game once, in 2017. Since then, he never averaged more than 23 points per game. In 2017, DeRozan averaged 27.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He shot 46.7% on FGs, 26.6% on 3s, and 84.2% on FTs. This season, the Bulls star is averaging 27.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per night. He’s doing it while shooting 51.5% from the field, 33.7% from three, and 86.4% on free throws. He took his best season from the middle of his prime and beat it in essentially every category. He even averages less turnovers. So how in the world did he do it. How is he putting together one of the best scoring seasons in recent memory out of essentially nowhere. How did the player that many people described as “the worst signing of the offseason,” become an MVP contender? He turned the c...

In any given season, there are generally just a few contenders in each conference in a tier by themselves with everyone else left chasing a rainbow. The Western conference fits that pattern. The East does not. The top 8 seeds are separated by just 7 games in the Eastern conference. The top 8 seeds in the west are separated by 19 games. So how do we sort through the playoff teams to find the ones with the potential to make serious noise? We dive into the numbers and the film. Every one of the top 8 seeds has shown some potential to make noise in the playoffs, and I will be examining each and every one of them. Miami Heat The Miami Heat will not go down. They have not missed the playoffs two seasons in a row since 2003. In 2020, they went on a surprising run to the finals, where they lost to the Lakers despite an amazing series by Jimmy Butler. With the addition of Kyle Lowry and the growth of Tyler Herro, the Heat improved on an already great roster and currently find themselves 1st in ...