3 NBA stars DeMar DeRozan is showing up this season

NBA stars DeMar DeRozan is showing up this season: Russell Westbrook

For most NBA stars this season, it wasn’t that difficult to outshine the new Los Angeles Lakers starting point guard Russell Westbrook. As the star that took the brunt of the blame (at least among any individual player on the team) for the Lakers’ struggles out of the gates this season, it’s also a bit unfair to place all of the responsibility for the slow start on Westbrook.

Yet, Westbrook is still off to the worst start for him of any season in a long time. His per-game averages don’t look too shabby. But that’s about where the positive news ends for him statistically so far this season.

Westbrook has averaged around 20 points per game, eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and five turnovers. And he’s shot just 45 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc, and 66 percent from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, DeRozan is averaging around 27 points per game, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and two turnovers. And he’s shot around 50 percent from the field, 37 percent from beyond the arc, and 88 percent from the free-throw line.

You can also easily see the stark contrast in the numbers for Westbrook and DeRozan this season in the all-encompassing advanced metrics. DeRozan has registered a solid 2.7 box plus/minus, a 23.7 player efficiency rating, and 4.5 win shares. Meanwhile, Westbrook has registered a -1.0 box plus/minus, 15.9 player efficiency rating, and barely over one win share.

All in all, DeRozan is helping the Bulls reach an elevated level of success while Westbrook and the Lakers have dramatically fallen short of expectations out of the gates this season.