“This guy DeMar DeRozan is doing this in the house that MJ built” - Stephen A. Smith praises DeMar DeRozan, believes he’s a frontrunner for league MVP

DeMar DeRozan is midway through a career year for the Chicago Bulls and is currently earning plaudits from around the NBA for his stellar play. That praise recently went from glowing discussions on forums, blogs and television to genuine discussions about DeRozan's place in the MVP race.

"I wanna announce to the basketball world, we look at Joel Embiid, I had him at No. 1, Jokic is not somebody to dismiss, but right now, no one, and I mean no one, can be definitively placed ahead of DeMar DeRozan for league MVP honors. He is doing his thing," Stephen A Smith said on a recent episode of ESPN's first take.

In 56 games so far, DeRozan is averaging a career-high 28.3 points per game along with 5.1 assists and 5.2 rebounds. He's done all that while operating with a 60.2 true–shooting percentage. For comparison, the league average is 56.5%.

Even more impressive, DeRozan has spent multiple stretches leading the Bulls' on his own, as the team has faced a litany of injury issues. Even now, Chicago is operating without Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.

"If the playoffs were to begin today, the road to theFfinals would have to go through the United Center," Smith said. "I will remined everybody that this guy DeMar DeRozan is doing this in the house that MJ built. MJ, Michael Jordan, they’ve got a statue outside of the United Center. That is where DeMar DeRozan is doing this.

"And by the way, he’s doing stuff that even the great Derrick Rose, when he was healthy, he wasn’t doing this."

DeRozan Put the League on Notice

Talk of DeRozan entering the MVP race surfaced around the Christmas period when he hit back-to-back game winners, and the Bulls were surging despite missing some of their core guys.

DeRozan had long been a forgotten commodity in the NBA. He had multiple disappointments with the Toronto Raptors and some underwhelming seasons alongside LaMarcus Aldridge with the San Antonio Spurs. But since joining the Bulls, the 13-year veteran has found a new lease on life.

Part of DeRozan's resurgence has been his greenlight to attack from the midrange, the area that analytics often discourages. However, when you're a reliable midrange shooter, those same analytics favor the shot profile.

According to Cleaning The Glass, DeRozan is hitting 51% of his midrange shots this year, which places him in the 90th percentile of wings.

As the Bulls continue to get healthy, we should see them begin to build momentum heading into the playoffs. That means DeRozan will be surrounded by Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic, which will open the floor up for him to continue playing in the midrange pockets.

"Zach Lavine, this brother is on the same team and has dealt with some injuries," Smith said. "And this brother DeMar DeRozan has held them up and them some."

As such, the MVP race will be wide open between now and the end of the season. And if we're being honest, the five-time All-Star has every chance of adding an MVP award to his trophy case.

ophy case.