TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan has taken a lot of flak throughout these playoffs, but when the Raptors have needed him most, he has delivered.
He scored 30 points, hitting all nine of his free throw attempts in Game 7 against Indiana, had 28 and eight rebounds, while hitting nearly half of his 29 shot attempts against Miami in another Game 7, and has turned in his best three-game stretch of these playoffs against Cleveland, including perhaps his best-ever all-round post-season performance in Saturday’s victory.
It was also likely the smartest DeRozan has played, which is a key for the two-time All-Star. His talent is best displayed when he isn’t forcing his game. When he looks for teammates often, slows himself down, refusing to rush his attacks, DeRozan becomes a force.
In Game 3, he wisely attacked the feet of J.R. Smith and Kevin Love, resulting in nine trips to the line (after just six, combined, over the first two games). He looked in rhythm with his jumper (12 for 24 from the field) and made smart passes (four assists, zero turnovers), including a couple of key assists to Bismack Biyombo in the fourth quarter.
DeRozan said he was conscious of moving the ball if he didn’t feel he had a good opportunity to take a shot.
“We keep repeating the same thing,” Luis Scola said at practice on Sunday.
“DeMar and Kyle, those are the guys that got to make the right play. We don’t need them to score every play, we just need them to play well. both of them were playing great and the outcome was completely different,” Scola said.
Head coach Dwane Casey agreed the DeRozan played a cerebral game.
“He did, I thought he didn’t get sped up in the game. I thought he kept it under control,” Casey said.
“I thought that was huge and it’s going to be huge going forward because now you’re going to see them into him more, more double-teams, more LeBron. … He’s doing a good job of picking and choosing his moves.”
DeRozan said part of his improved shooting can be attributed to the fact that his bothersome thumb injury — one that played havoc with his feel for the ball earlier in the playoffs — is less problematic these days.
“It’s not as bad as it was, it was pretty bad, honestly. I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about it until whenever we were done,” DeRozan said.
“It’s a lot better, every day it gets better, but it’s still there. I’m still conscious of hoping it doesn’t get hit. I still try to get comfortable with it every single day, just dealing with the pain,” he said.
For Casey, it wasn’t just DeRozan’s offence that impressed him in Game 3.
“I thought also, his attention to his defence was pretty good. He was into them without fouling. … His overall play was excellent,” Casey said.
DeRozan only committed one foul, didn’t get lost on back cuts by the Cavaliers, and played physically against Smith, Iman Shumpert and even James on a few possessions.
“I think it’s growth. Being at this level, nobody on this team has been there except Cory (Joseph),” Casey said of why DeRozan appears to be getting better with each passing game.
“It’s another step, another step you’ve got to take, The level of intensity, the level of force you got to play with. The intelligence you have to play with, because teams know exactly what you’re doing. Everything is heightened. It takes time to get used to that,” he said. “Unfortunately it took us two games to get used to that and we’re still going to have to do it.”
But with DeRozan comfortable and rolling (and with Lowry sinking 4-of-8 three-point attempts), suddenly, this series is a lot more interesting.
***
Nobody in the Raptors room can hold a grudge against Bismack Biyombo.
A scuffling Scola said he was irritated when a three-point shot he needed to make to boost his confidence was wiped out by Biyombo interference the other day.
“I was like, ‘Oh no,’” a laughing Scola said.
“I can’t be mad at him. My kids love Biz. They call him, ‘Get the heck out of here … Biz, get the heck out of here,’” for his finger-wagging blocks.
DeRozan said he was not a fan when Biyombo played for Charlotte.
“No, I hated Biz. When he was in Charlotte, I hated Biz. I hated him. He was a fouler, always blocking shots,” DeRozan said up at the podium at BioSteel Centre.
“He always went for the pump fake, though, but I hated Biz. I told him myself, I told Bismack, ‘I hated you.’ Now by far he’s one of my favourite teammates of all time. It’s great when you get to meet a person like that that was your rival, so to speak, from another team, to be on your team, now you understand why everybody else hated him so much, and I love it now.”
***
DeMarre Carroll sprained his ankle in Game 3, but looked fine at practice, walking without much, or any, signs of a limp.
Jonas Valanciunas was getting treatment on his injured ankle while the media was allowed to watch practice. He is officially listed as doubtful for Game 4.