Despite a tough loss to the Knicks, DeMar DeRozan stepped up and shot a team-high 34 points. As great a performance as that appeared to be, it's important to look beneath the surface. In reality, his efficiency wasn't great and represents the Kings' biggest issues.
No one should question DeRozan's bona fides. He is, without question, one of the greatest mid-range shooters in the history of the game. Even in his 17th season, he can still be an elite scorer who can drop a 30-piece out of the blue. It's just not enough to get wins for the Kings.
Only two other players were in double digits for the Kings against the Knicks, and they were 20 or more points behind DeRozan. It takes a whole team effort to get across the finish line, which is definitely not something Sacramento has been great at this season.
The Kings regularly have great individual performances on the court, but rarely seem to put that together into a team effort. You see that in moments when players like DeRozan call their own number a lot, yet don't really seem to deliver on that confidence. You just have to look at the efficiency.
DeRozan didn't shoot as well as it looked based on his personal total
Sure, DeMar pulled down 34 points, but he shot 13 of 26 from the field to get there. That means he was shooting 50%. It gets even worse when you look at his three-point shots. DeRozan went one for seven from beyond the arc, which is terrible by anyone's standards.
There's no strategy in what DeRozan is doing. He's taking a large number of shots, but not enough of them are falling to make a big difference. DeMar can't win games by himself, and sometimes it seems like that's exactly what he's trying to do. Keep in mind, he had zero assists against the Knicks.
Again, no one is going to claim DeRozan can't shoot. At the same time, he probably shouldn't be starting, playing nearly 40 minutes per game, and taking more shots than everyone who played off the bench combined. It's not a winning proposition, as evidenced by the Kings' record.
DeMar DeRozan isn't the only person on the Kings' roster playing like this, but he is a prime example of the problem they face. It's a group of individuals doing their own thing while not coming together as a unit. Scoring 34 points is meaningless when your team doesn't get past the 87-point mark.