ICYMI from Raptors Republic
https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2016/04/24/derozan-lowry-know-need-better-practice-notes/
DeRozan is adamant that the struggles aren’t wearing on him and understands that this is a part of the battle. It’s clear he knows he needs to better in terms of getting others going, and there’s no sense from talking to him that he’s losing confidence in eventually getting his game and his shot going.
“It’s just a thing of us figuring it out and using our teammates,” DeRozan said. “Not at all, I’m not frustrated. I’m not complaining. It’s 2-2. The two games we lost, we turned the ball over a lot. We wasn’t ourselves…We’re still in a great position to go out Tuesday night and get another win at home.”
Lowry, meanwhile, might have more of an argument that he’s just missing decent looks, although that explanation doesn’t exactly make things better with the series down to just three games for regression to set in. The cause behind those misfires isn’t the quality of shot, according to Lowry, but how he’s taking them, which is in part the doing of the Pacers.
“I gotta shoot the shots better,” Lowry said. “I gotta take more shots that I work on. I gotta be more balanced. I gotta be more in rhythm…They’re playing defense on us, rushing us into things, making us speed up our shots. The shots that we normally take, if it takes us 0.9 seconds to usually shoot it, we’re shooting in, like, 0.4. So they’re speeding us up. It may not seem like a big difference, but that’s what they’ve done a good job of, is speeding us up.
“We, as players, have to, me and DeMar, do a better job of taking our time, and getting to the spots, and being patient.
Links from the Internets
Dwane Casey ties his fate to DeMar DeRozan for better or for worse | The Defeated
It would be one thing if the Raptors didn’t have other options. But there’s Jonas Valanciunas, who has been nothing short of a wrecking ball tearing down the Pacers’ interior, getting just seven shots in Game 4. There’s the benching of Norman Powell in Game 3 after a stellar showing. There was the substitution of DeRozan for Cory Joseph in Game 1 that ultimately swung the game.
It doesn’t matter how well others perform, it doesn’t matter how much DeRozan shits the bed. It’s his series to lose no matter what.
To be fair, it’s important to remember that DeRozan has earned Casey’s trust. He’s been the tireless worker that’s been a model leader for the team. He’s been with the club since Chris Bosh‘s last days, he lived through the hopeless Yung Gunz era — and because he worked so hard, Casey gave DeRozan the time and touches to eventually develop into an all-star. They have each other to thank.
But how far should loyalty go? Should it supercede the best interests of the team?
Raptors relying on DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry in pivotal Game 5 | CBSSports.com
DeRozan’s difficulties are particularly alarming. At his best, it looks like he can get 20 points in his sleep. Against Indiana, his typical smooth glides to the basket have largely been replaced by awkward, forced jumpers. The most obvious sign of his development is how comfortable he has become handling the ball, surveying the defense and making smart plays. The most obvious sign of his need for improvement is how he’s handled playoff pressure.
Over the years, DeRozan has often talked about the game slowing down for him. He studies film obsessively and has seen every type of defense imaginable. Against George and the Pacers, though, he seems a beat or two behind. The same is true for Lowry, who is usually relentless with the ball but has had trouble finding openings to attack.
“Me and DeMar, we talked,” Lowry said. “They’re playing defense on us and rushing us into things, making us speed up our shots, and the shots that we normally take with patience, we’re taking a little bit — if it takes us 0.9 seconds to usually shoot ’em, we’re shooting them in 0.4.”
Lowry said that some of this is mental: He needs to relax and play his game. He said he’s taking the same shots he’s used to, but he’s not taking them on balance and on target. The Pacers have both he and DeRozan out of rhythm, but they’ve both done their best to avoid showing signs of frustration.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I’m not upset at how I’m playing,” Lowry said. “But I’ve got to be positive. At the end of the day my teammates bank on me to be positive and lead these guys, and that’s what I’m going to do no matter how I’m shooting the ball.”
After three games, it appeared that the Raptors had solved Indiana. After four, an upset once again feels possible. If Toronto can just take care of the ball and take advantage of it depth, Lowry and DeRozan don’t have to be superstars to advance to the second round. They just have to be more like themselves.
Lowry’s playoff woes nothing new | Toronto Sun
It would be easy for the all-star point guard to blame his late-season elbow injury for some of his troubles this time around (like 18.5% three-point shooting), but Lowry refuses to do that.
“Nope. I’m just missing shots. I get some good looks, but I’m just missing shots,” Lowry said when asked specifically if his elbow is a problem.
As Luis Scola has said, you play only good teams in the playoffs and you need to be prepared for the challenge. George Hill and other Pacers have given Lowry fits, as other post-season teams have done in the past.
Now the two-time all-star starter’s mettle is being tested, again.
Toronto’s season depends on him finding at least the form he had against the Nets twop springs ago.
DeMar DeRozan getting exposed in the playoffs? | RealGM
Yet another really terrible showing in the playoffs.
I always thought his 2013-14 All-Star selection was wack but he did deserve it this season, so perhaps he had turned a corner this season.
But at this point if he’s not gonna show up for the playoffs after the last 2 years, he’s never going to be ready for the big time. He’s going to get max contract offers from multiple teams but I really wonder if they’ll get far with him.
Coach Casey, time is growing short for Raptors Raptors Rapture
Luis Scola needs to be parked on the bench. He has eight points in four games, and is substituted for quickly. What are we doing here? If Casey is convinced Patrick Patterson isn’t comfortable as a starter, let’s give Jason Thompson a chance. He’s a veteran, and can help defensively. At least he won’t be a liability.
You don’t like that idea? Fine, let’s go small. DeMarre Carroll moves to the 4-spot, and Norman Powell starts at shooting guard. Hopefully surrounding Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan with more outside shooting will lessen their concerns about providing the bulk of Raptors scoring. Something’s got to shake those two out of their funk.
I’m not terribly worried about Indiana’s big men. If Ian Mahinmi and Lavoy Allen are the difference-makers for the Pacers, the Raptors deserve to lose the series. Should they appear to be out-muscling our tiny lineup, bring in 2-Pat and Bismack Biyombo as early as necessary.
Charged Up: Paul George has drawn more offensive fouls than any playoff team | Indy Cornrows
“We’ve got to be smart against offense-initiated contact,” Frank Vogel told the Indy Star’s Nate Taylor ahead of his team’s final regular season meeting with the Toronto Raptors back on April 8. “It’s something that the league has got to look at in terms of the James Hardens and the DeMar DeRozans of the world that are going to swing their arms through defenders. If you don’t have discipline with their hands and you don’t make an effort to pull your arms out of those situations, they’re going to rightfully go to the free-throw line. We haven’t done a good job of that.”
The Pacers weren’t doing a “good job” of it then, but Paul George certainly is now.
The All-NBA defender’s wide defensive stance and lengthy wingspan has been an obstacle to DeRozan’s drive-heavy game from the get-go this series. No matter how much Toronto’s shooting guard “doth protest” George’s defense as the source of his frustration and frigid shooting, this play from Game 1, where he leads with his shoulder, says otherwise.
Raptors need to take advantage of home court in Game 5 | Toronto Sun
“I know it’s simplistic and it’s probably too simple for me as a coach to explain, but the team that played the hardest in the two games that were won, they out-fought the other team,” Casey said. “They scrapped, they fought, their backs were against the wall, they played in desperate mode. And I don’t think we played in a desperate mode last night. They did. And I’ve said it all year: if we don’t play desperate, if we don’t play hungry, if we’re not the hungry team, we struggle. And we gotta play the desperate team, the hungry team, and last night should have been a good lesson for that.”
So even with home court advantage and the series down to a best-of-three Casey isn’t feeling any edge on the Pacers.
“I don’t care if we play on the moon if we don’t come out and play like our backs are against the wall, hit first …” Casey said. “We got hit first all (Game 4) . They pushed us out of the way. Their guards pushed us around. Everything that they could do, they did physically, they hit first. And if we don’t do that (Tuesday), I don’t care where we play, it’s not going to be an advantage for us.”
Post-Game 4 Breakdown: When everything went wrong | Raptors HQ
Call it the refs swallowing their whistles all you like, but DeRozan’s shot selection has moved further and further away from the basket and has given them no reason to blow.
% of FGA by Distance0-33-1010-1616<3P
Regular Season.226.213.214.247.101
Playoffs.196.196.179.304.125A big part of the story is obviously that Paul George is doing a fantastic job on DeRozan, but DeMar has done a terrible job of adjusting to the pressure and continues to shoot himself and his team out of games.
The Raptors have a Net Rating (points scored minus points allowed per 100 possessions) of -12.0 in DeMar’s 136 minutes of floor time this series, compared to a 18.3 in his 56 minutes on the bench. That’s a 30.3 point swing per 100 possessions when the team’s supposed star is on the floor compared to when he’s on the bench. That is a ridiculous number.
Honestly, how can you expect to win a series when your team’s leader in Usage Rate (29.2%) has a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 3.9 and accumulates Win Shares (WS) at a rate of -0.127 per 48 minutes?
I just don’t know anymore.
Did I miss something? Send me any Raptors-related article/video: rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
