2. Can Aldridge & DeRozan Co-Exist?

While that’s all well and good off the court, it will be interesting to see whether two specialists from mid-range can work together on offense. 

Aldridge took 1,347 shots last season. 39.9% of them were 10-19 feet away from the basket, 34.3% of them were fewer than 5 feet away. He was still effective in the 5-9 foot range, and even beyond the arc, but there is a clear preference in terms of his positioning and the type of shots he took: first is a jump shot, next is the turnaround jump shot, third is the layup.

Compare that to DeRozan and his shot position preference is equally clear. In that 10-19 foot range, 37.7% of his 1,413 shots were taken, but he got to the rim slightly less than Aldridge, just 24.7% came from within 5 feet. Shooting from range has always been shaky for DeRozan but he doubled the number of attempts per game he took last year and was much more efficient.

DeRozan still wasn’t great, just 31% from three but his range has improved, and there will likely be more open opportunities with the Spurs in comparison to the Raptors – simply by nature of the system and the fact that his former shot-creating teammate, Kyle Lowry, spent more time on the perimeter. 

But Aldridge is also the best big man DeRozan will have ever played with. Jonas Valanciunas has been serviceable, Serge Ibaka is a decent shooter, but you would have to go back to DeRozan’s rookie season with Chris Bosh to find another 7-footer who could do serious damage on the offensive end.

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