The Kings play fast. DeMar does not.
Sacramento was 3rd in the NBA in transition frequency last season, making up a whopping 20.4% of their possessions. Their big man, Sabonis, was the only player among their top 9 most played to have a transition frequency below 17%.
DeRozan, in contrast, had a transition frequency of 7.7% last season, ranking in just the 7th percentile. In his two prior seasons, this value dipped even lower.
The visual below puts things into perspective. Feel free to interact with it:
Sacramento's pace is a staple of their identity, so it's evident that DeMar needs to adjust his game to fit the bill.
How can DeMar adjust his game?
1) Get up the court quicker
Last season, the Kings finished 3rd in frequency of possessions crossing halfcourt early in the clock (24-22 seconds), with this making up a significant 26.4% of their possessions.
DeMar, on the other hand, ranked in just the 29th percentile in frequency; getting him up the floor quicker in situations where he's the ballhandler is therefore a must.
After a make or miss, it's imperative that DeMar sprints up the floor before receiving a pass so that the ball is able to get up the court quickly.
As a Bull, DeMar stayed stationary and waited for the ball to set up the offense instead of getting ahead to push the pace:
While this helped create organization, it cost the Bulls opportunities to attack an unset defense, opportunities the Kings routinely weaponize to create advantages and easy shots early in the clock:
Logically, it makes sense; when ballhandlers receive the ball higher up the floor when beginning an attack, they establish themselves as a threat sooner, increasing the likelihood of forcing the defense into a scramble as they panic to stop the ball.
Getting up the floor before receiving a pass certainly helps to create early advantages, but aggressive attacks after the fact to draw in the defense are just as important.
These attacks were infrequent for DeMar, averaging only 0.7 possessions involving early-clock paint touches (10th percentile).
DeMar preferred to patiently bring the ball up to set up the offense without looking to test the defense from time to time, extinguishing potential transition chances:
De'Aaron Fox's relentless downhill attacks as a transition ballhandler are key to the Kings' early offense. Fox creates many of his paint scoring chances in this way as well as drive-and-kick looks for his teammates.
As a transition ballhandler, DeMar, similarly, needs to attack with more of a sense of urgency.
2) Sprint to fill lanes off-ball
Last year's Bulls weren't a team that consistently got up the court and filled lanes in transition, DeMar included. DeMar only had 22 total transition possessions scoring from the wing, which, for reference, was fewer than the 11th-highest MPG player on the Kings.
With Sacramento's "grab-and-go" culture, where anyone can begin the break, DeMar likely isn't going to bring the ball up in transition as often as he's used to.
As a result, he's going to need to emphasize filling lanes early off-ball and being available as an outlet.
In early-offense scramble situations, there are plenty of openings that arise from attacking unset defenses. Last season's Kings took advantage, in large part, by shooting threes, either by spotting up or off of a quick handoff:
But these situations are also opportunities to attack off-balance defenders 1v1 in space, where DeMar thrives. Running the floor harder and more often can reward DeMar with frequent downhill drives where he can get to his spots:
Running the floor can also create leakout chances and easy scores, opportunities DeMar only had four total times last season:
What would this do for the Kings?
DeMar DeRozan is one of the best offensive players in the NBA. Adding him to the Sacramento transition attack, if he buys in, makes it more dynamic while also filling an important need.
You see, the Kings, while 3rd in transition frequency, were just 22nd in transition scoring efficiency last season. This was largely due to their shot diet, ranking 3rd in 3PT rate but just 22nd and 17th in rim and paint scoring rates, respectively:
Even at 35, DeMar still gets to the paint at an elite level: 15.6 paint touches per game ranked top-20 in the NBA last season. He could very well be the inside scoring threat that the Sacramento transition offense needs.
This brings it back full circle: in order to turn potential into proficiency, DeMar DeRozan needs to play faster whether he has the ball or not.
All data/statistics in this piece were sourced from Synergy Sports
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