A year removed from an impressive campaign in 2021-22 that saw DeMar DeRozan earn All-Star starter status and All-NBA Second Team honors, the Chicago Bulls’ star forward has bounced back to compile arguably an equally impressive 2022-23 season. The wins haven’t been piling up for the Bulls like they did last year, but DeMar has still done enough to keep the Bulls in the playoff race and earn his second consecutive All-Star nomination with Chicago.
At least, that’s what would one would think at first glance.
After all, DeRozan has maintained an exceptional level of raw output to match his first season in Chicago, while somehow still improving on his already hyper-efficient game. Just take a look at how DeRozan’s two seasons in Chicago stack up so far.
- 2021-22: 27.9 PTS, 5.2 REB, 4.9 AST, 50.4 FG%, 87.7 FT%
- 2022-23: 26.3 PTS, 5.0 REB, 4.9 AST, 50.8 FG%, 89.0 FT%
Even with Zach LaVine’s full-time return to the lineup, DeRozan has maintained his All-NBA caliber numbers and proven he’s the leader of this team. Despite his performance this year, the experts over at Inside the NBA don’t appear to believe DeMar deserves to make his sixth visit to the All-Star Game in 2023.
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It would be a travesty if ‘Inside the NBA’ correctly predicts Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan to miss the 2023 All-Star Game.
Admittedly, I wasn’t too surprised at hearing this news after seeing just how disappointing the Bulls have been this season. It’s hard enough to convince someone who covers the Bulls like myself to turn on the televesion and watch this team these days, let alone for a retired legend like Shaq or Barkley. However, I still just couldn’t shake the feeling that DeMar was getting the short end of the stick here.
It’s worth noting that scoring is at an all-time high in the NBA these days, and a rising tide raises all ships. Never before have we seen so many prolific scoring threats come out of the woodwork. The competition for these coveted spots is simply much tighter than it was last year. DeRozan joined Atlanta’s Trae Young as an All-Start starter last year, and neither one received even a single vote to return from the Inside the NBA panel.
But is that really a fair assessment?
To compare the validity of these votes, I examined the raw box score stats, advanced metrics (including true shooting percentage, box plus/minus, and win shares), and team success of each player in the conversation here. I started with the incumbent All-Stars:
- DeRozan: 26.3 PTS, 5.0 REB, 4.9 AST, 59.7 TS%, 2.4 BPM, 5.6 WS, (22-26)
- Young: 27.1 PTS, 2.9 REB, 9.9 AST, 56.6 TS%, 2.6 BPM, 3.8 WS, (25-24)
And finished with each player the panel voted for:
- Brown: 26.8 PTS, 7.1 REB, 3.2 AST, 58.5 TS%, 1.1 BPM, 3.2 WS, (35-15)
- Brunson: 22.4 PTS, 3.5 REB, 6.3 AST, 57.2 TS%, 3.0 BPM, 5.2 WS, (27-23)
- Haliburton: 20.2 PTS, 4.0 REB, 10.2 AST, 61.3 TS%, 7.3 BPM. 5.4 WS, (24-27)
- Harden: 21.5 PTS, 6.4 REB, 11.1 AST, 61.4 TS%, 5.5 BPM, 4.7 WS (32-16)
- Holiday: 19.6 PTS, 5.0 REB, 7.4 AST, 57.3 TS%, 2.8 BPM. 3.5 WS (32-17)
While many of these candidates present a worthy case, one must remember only seven total players may be chosen to represent the East’s reserves. Of those seven, two must be guards, three must be in the frontcourt, and the last two can be from any position. This means we’re looking at a minimum of two and a maximum of four players selected from the above list.
Jaylen Brown may have been the consensus choice amongst the panel, but it’s Tyrese Haliburton who actually pops off the page to me first. Leading the league in assists and pulling the Pacers out of the cellar of the East, Haliburton has a strong enough narrative and incredible advanced metrics to get him in the game. Brown’s stat line looks incredibly similar to DeMar’s — if not a little worse — but Boston’s success as a team likely gets him that All-Star nod as well.
It’s extremely unlikely the Knicks get a second All-Star bid, and Randle is the better of the two, so Jalen Brunson is out for me. James Harden has been phenomenal as usual, but he’s still taken a step back (get it?) this season and has missed a third of Philadelphia’s games already, that’s too much to stomach here. Jrue Holiday, as much as I love him, simply hasn’t been good enough to be included with the rest of this group and has also missed a handful of games himself.
That leaves us with DeRozan and Young, each racing to grab one of the two remaining All-Star spots. They each deserve to present their case, but with DeMar landing 4th in the player vote with Trae all the way down at 12th, I’m liable to believe the coaches would also side with DeRozan here. Of course, they both could still make the team, but they’ll be competing with the likes of Pascal Siakam, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo. Odds are only one will make it through unscathed.
And to be honest, I like DeMar’s odds here. DeRozan received no media votes in the official vote either, so I can’t say I’m surprised to see Inside the NBA disrepesect him here. The fact remains he finished top five in both the player and fan vote. If the All-Star Game still has any integrity, DeMar DeRozan should once again find himself among their ranks this year.