Anunoby holds key to beating DeRozan's Bulls, extending Raptors’ season

TORONTO – For a young player starting out his NBA career, and somebody hoping to grow into an all-world defender, it doesn’t get much better than an apprenticeship under one of the league’s most gifted scorers.

Over the course of his rookie season in Toronto, O.G. Anunoby studied his veteran teammate, DeMar DeRozan. He watched him work, started games alongside of him and went up against him in practice. All the while, he played close attention to the things DeRozan did – and still does – better than most; the deceptive pump fakes, his mid-range mastery, and a superhuman ability to get to his spots and get his shots off even under duress.

“He’s a very patient player,” Anunoby said of the long-time Raptors guard and the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. “When I came in I was definitely over-aggressive, biting on his head fakes and stuff, just little tricks he had. I definitely learned from him.”

“There’s certainly respect there from O.G.,” said Nick Nurse, an assistant coach on Dwane Casey’s staff during that 2017-18 campaign. “He saw this guy in person every day and watched him score like crazy.”

Now, as Toronto gets set to host DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls in a must-win contest this week, Anunoby holds the key to neutralizing his friend, mentor and former teammate, while extending his club’s season in the process.

After finishing their disappointing regular season with a record of 41-41 and in ninth place, the Raptors will need to make it out of the play-in tournament in order to qualify for the playoffs. Get past Chicago at home on Wednesday and they would advance to face the loser of Atlanta-Miami on the road Friday. If they come up short, their off-season begins on Thursday.

The Bulls present multiple challenges from a matchup standpoint. DeRozan’s co-star, Zach LaVine, has been on a tear since January. Nikola Vucevic is always a difficult cover in that he can score around the basket or step out and burn you from the perimeter. And thanks in large part to Alex Caruso and Patrick Beverley, who have given them some toughness in the backcourt, they’ve been the league’s best defensive team dating back to the all-star break.

Still, the Raptors know how dangerous DeRozan can be as both a scorer and a playmaker. While it’s easier said than done, forcing the ball out of his hands will be a top priority, and Anunoby is at the centre of that game plan.

In the three-game season series, Toronto held DeRozan to 14.0 points – fewer than he scored against any other team this year and 10 points less than his average. Most importantly, though, he attempted just 8.7 shots per contest, half of what he took against everybody else. They were also able to limit his free throws; he got to the line 5.7 times, down from his average of 7.1.

“That’s Nick Nurse,” said DeRozan, who’s in his second season with the Bulls after spending three in San Antonio and his first nine with the Raptors. “I know how to deal with it. But playing against Nick and playing against those guys, they try to do everything in their power to make sure I don’t beat them.”

In the past, Nurse and the Raptors have sent a second defender to trap DeRozan on the catch. That may be tougher to pull off successfully with LaVine – who missed the first meeting – playing so well. Fortunately, they should be well equipped to handle at least one of Chicago’s dynamic wings in single coverage, if it comes to that.

According to NBA.com matchup data, Anunoby guarded DeRozan on 118.3 possessions this season – more than all but one opponent (Donovan Mitchell) – and held him to 14 points and just five field goal attempts, while forcing six turnovers. While he may not have to “empty the clip” – a phrase that Kyle Lowry coined after DeRozan attempted 32 shots in Game 7 of Toronto’s first-round series against Indiana during the 2016 Conference Finals run – Anunoby expects the 14-year vet to be more aggressive in looking for his jumper on Wednesday, given what’s at stake.

“It’s definitely difficult because he’ll pump fake three or four times in the same [play],” Anunoby said. “He’s good at getting fouls, so [you] just try to force him to the most difficult spot possible. If he makes them, that’s what he does. [You can’t be] mad about that. You go on to the next play.”

The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the league’s premier lockdown defenders, and that will likely come with his first NBA All-Defensive Team selection later this spring. He’s made a strong case for himself, routinely guarding the opposing team’s best offensive player, regardless of position. The list of Anunoby’s most-guarded players this season is made up of all-stars, ranging from guards like DeRozan and Mitchell to wings like Kevin Durant, Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard, and even big men like the reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Anunoby also became the first Raptors player to ever lead the NBA in steals with 128 in 67 games, an impressive feat, especially considering it rarely feels like he’s in foul trouble or gambling on plays. His ability to read passing lanes or, in some cases, just tear the ball away from an opposing player is a credit to his defensive instincts and discipline on that end of the floor. Spending time with DeRozan, as well as Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet – all of them crafty scorers – aided in his development.

“He started out stiff as a cardboard box,” DeRozan said of Anunoby after they faced each other in April of 2021. “To see his skill set grow from where I first saw it speaks volumes. He’s come a long way and deserves everything that comes his way. I hope he keeps growing. It’s fun to see that, it’s fun to compete against that, and I’m glad I was a part of his career early on.”

“DeMar was really nice to me,” Anunoby said following Toronto’s Monday morning practice. “He’s still a very good friend of mine. Just a great teammate. We all looked up to him and he did a good job teaching us.”

Those lessons will be put to the test again on Wednesday. Even the best defenders can fall victim to DeRozan’s bag of tricks, as Anunoby has seen firsthand. At the same time, the Raptors need him to be aggressive. Assuming they struggle to shoot the ball against Chicago’s elite defence – and, let’s face it, that’s a safe bet – their winning formula is to dominate the possession battle.

In their two wins over the Bulls this season, they attempted 38 more shots – the result of forcing 16 more turnovers, as well as crashing the offensive glass (where Toronto had a 42-21 edge).

Wednesday’s game might not be the most aesthetically pleasing we’ll ever see. But if the Raptors have to grind it out and win ugly to save – or least prolong – the season, Anunoby could be their most important player.

“DeMar can really score, as we know, and he can score guarded,” Nurse said. “The level of the contest and the level of where he starts from, number of catches, is a lot of what we just talked about. I think O.G. does a pretty good job of zeroing in on that stuff. And you're not stopping him. He's going to find ways to score. It's just, can we make it tough over the course of the game and try to get some misses here and there and make sure we limit those misses to one-shot opportunities, and all those things? So that's the big thing O.G. does.”