Why DeMar DeRozan’s historic start is more than just a hot streak – Sportsnet.ca
“The game really looks slow to him,” Hornacek said. “He’s taking his sweet time, using his body. He’s got good size, good athletic ability. He gets an angle on his guy and turns around and shoots it, obviously in that mid-range game. He’s a hard guy to stop unless you try to double him or come from the weak side, and then he jumps up in the air and finds guys from there. That’s what makes him really dangerous.”
DeRozan has played nearly 18,000 minutes since his rookie campaign in 2009-10; only a handful of players have played more in that stretch. The NBA game is exceedingly familiar to him.
“I think it’s like being in your house in the dark, right? You turn the lights off and you still know where you’ve got to go,” said DeRozan, who seemingly loves coming up with metaphors as much as he loves breaking down defenders. “You know where the dining [room] table is, the chair, where the stairs are, all of that. I think at this point that’s what it feels like to me late in the game. I’m just used to it. I’m comfortable with it. And if I step on a toy or something I know I didn’t put it there.”
It helps that DeRozan has whittled his game down to the essentials. Other players try to expand their games; DeRozan seems intent on perfecting the tools he has. The lack of three-pointers in his approach is well known. It’s been expected that he would add that to his arsenal given the three-happy nature of today’s NBA, but DeRozan is taking the lowest percentage of his shots from three since his second year in the league. Every other player in the top-10 in scoring takes at least three triples a game other than big man Anthony Davis. DeRozan has taken 13 on the season.
Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan Is Torching The NBA | SI.com
This is where DeRozan lives right now. Two months ago, SI.com projected the Top 100 players of 2017—an attempt to parse through the incredible talent around the league independent of team context. We ranked DeRozan at No. 46. DeRozan understandably objected. The ranking became a line of questioning in training camp and DeRozan, again, voiced his displeasure. “I guarantee you a lot of them players that were ranked ahead of me know they are not better than me,” he said.
Seven years of tape and data had pointed to DeRozan as a player of significant and particular strength but also unavoidable weakness; great scoring output and foul-drawing ability was hedged by underwhelming defense, uninspiring efficiency, and a jamming effect on his team’s spacing. More recently, DeRozan had been held to 32% shooting and 39% shooting, respectively, in back-to-back playoff series that featured the Raptors as heavy favorites. Both series were nearly lost as long, disciplined defenders robbed DeRozan of his primary value. Opponents abandoned him beyond the three-point line to clog the works of Toronto’s sets and take away any straightforward access to the rim.
A player like that can only be complicated. There was no doubt of DeRozan’s scoring credentials—merely an acknowledgement that his complete game isn’t the easiest fit for a wide swath of roster compositions and play styles. Even those things he did best seemed to have clear counters. We expected DeRozan, a grinder who improves every year, to be better this season than the player we saw in May. But why would anyone expect an established star to return to the same team with essentially the same roster and produce in dramatically different fashion than he ever had before?
That’s exactly what’s happening, because basketball is awesome and complex and, in certain ways, deeply unpredictable.
Game Rap: Raptors 117, Cavaliers 121 | Toronto Raptors
UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME
DeMar DeRozan’s 30-point streak ended in Cleveland, but it was another big game from the NBA’s leading scorer. DeRozan finished with 26 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Terrence Ross scored 18 points off the bench in 25 minutes of play. He shot 7-for-12 from the floor, scoring on jumpers and three-pointers (4-for-7), as well as driving to the basket. Ross contributed 10 of his points in the fourth on 4-for-6 shooting as he helped Toronto build a seven-point lead.
LeBron James, Cavs tie best start in franchise history in 121-117 win over Raptors | cleveland.com
Toronto’s two All-Stars, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, paced the Raptors with 28 and 26 points, respectively. Lowry scored 12 in the fourth quarter, which began with Toronto trailing by seven.
The game’s frenetic final two minutes were stuffed with fouls, a technical, and missed free throws that could’ve swung the outcome in either direction.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey was slapped with a technical for screaming about a foul called on Lowry against Love with 1:39 left and the Raptors ahead by one (Casey had a point). Irving missed the technical foul shot (his second miss on a technical in the game), and Love missed one of two foul shots.
But with the score knotted at 115 on Toronto’s next possession, DeRozan got to the line but converted on just one of two free throws.
Cleveland went ahead for good on Frye’s 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, assisted by James. It was Frye’s fifth 3-pointer Tuesday and his 11th in the last two games; he’s now scored in double figures in six of his last seven games.
Final score: Cavs survive tough challenge from Raptors, 121-117 – Fear The Sword
For the second time this season, the Toronto Raptors gave the Cleveland Cavaliers all they could handle, just as they did a couple of times during the Eastern Conference Finals back in May. And for the second time this season, the Cavs pulled out a win, just as they had during the Eastern Conference Finals.
The game was close throughout, and at times had the feel of a playoff game. There’s no question that the Raptors badly want to be on the same level with the Cavs. They’re just not there.
LeBron James carried much of the load, scoring 28 points, on just 15 shots, to go along with 14 assists and nine rebounds. He did this with all-time great Oscar Robertson in attendance at Quicken Loans Arena. He also did it right on the heels of a controversy involving a back-and-forth with another all-time great, Phil Jackson. It is possible that either of these things caused LeBron to be especially locked in. Or maybe neither had anything to do with it, and it was just LeBron being LeBron.
Cavaliers edge the Raptors again, 121-117 – Raptors HQ
Can the Raptors eventually beat the Cavaliers? If the first two games of this season are any indication, they’re awfully close to pulling it off. In the last five months, it’s apparent that Cleveland is starting to get up for games against Toronto. The matchups are starting to give off a big brother / little brother vibe, with LeBron allowing the less muscular Raptors just enough scoring to keep it interesting, before crushing their will. The Quicken Loans Arena was certainly up for this one, and the intrigue on the court was a working script for the playoffs.
In the end, though, there are no moral victories. The Raptors have proven they’ll be in the running for the top seed with Cleveland, but now trail 2-0 in the season series. They have another matchup in three short weeks on December 5, then again on the very last game of the season on April 20.
If the first two games are any indication, it’s hard to rule out that spring game having some meaning, especially if the Raptors are just as feisty in the standings as they are on the court.
Numbers Game: On Early PF returns, Lowry’s minutes and Bebe Fun – Raptors HQ
Starting Lineup with Pascal Siakam: 82 MP, 99 ORTG, 109 DRTG, -10 RTG
Starting Lineup with Patterson: 38 MP, 117 ORTG, 98 DRTG, +18 RTGIt’s not really a question of level of competition, as Patterson is usually the first sub off the bench (so most of the other team’s starters are still playing including any stars) and the rest of that lineup’s minutes come at the close of games, against the opposition’s best lineups.
Siakam seems to cause many of the same issues as Scola did last year, though for slightly different reasons. Instead of being too slow defensively (he’s quite energetic, you may have noticed) he simply suffers from the reality of being an NBA rookie. He’s often a step behind in defensive coverage and never gets the benefit of the doubt on foul calls. Offensively, it’s the same idea. Siakam’s lack of spacing hurts the Raptors’ guard oriented offence, and even though he has actually been hitting his jumpers, teams are willing to let him have them, just like they were with Scola and his three pointers. The problem seems to be exacerbated with Siakam, as his usage is even lower than Scola’s was, so defences ignoring him are not being punished very often at all.
Doug Christie on Free Association: ‘I’m not a trade Boogie Cousins guy’ – Sportsnet.ca
JD also weighs in on DeMar DeRozan winning the player of the week honours and the amazing start by Bebe Nogueira, and Donnovan has something of his own to say about Boogie to end the show.
Siakam’s improbable journey to the NBA – Video – TSN
Pascal Siakam’s journey from Cameroon to the NBA has been anything but ordinary. He grew up around the game but only started playing competitive basketball four years before being drafted. Josh Lewenberg has more on Siakam’s rise to the NBA
Raptors to conclude gruelling back-to-back vs. Warriors Wednesday – Video – TSN
The Raptors emptied the tank in a hard-fought loss to the reigning champion Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Their reward? A date with another NBA finalist, the Warriors, less than 24 hours later. Josh Lewenberg has more.
Patterson threads the needle to a cutting Lowry who draws the double and kicks to Powell for the corner three! #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/x48oGrUNrI
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) November 16, 2016
Game day: Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors | Toronto Star
KEY MATCHUP
Stephen Curry, Warriors, vs. Kyle Lowry, Raptors: The hits keep coming for Lowry, who’s had Russell Westbrook, Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose and Kyrie Irving to deal with in the last week. Curry is unique among them because of his three-point shooting ability.
DeMar sticks a three out of a timeout; critical basket #wethenorth pic.twitter.com/LoWd5nzaKO
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) November 16, 2016
Warriors’ top priority is keep DeRozan in check – Video – TSN
With DeMar DeRozan off to a blazing-hot start to the season, his dominance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Warriors, who are planning to make slowing him down their top priority on Wednesday night.
JV is a beast in the low block #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/eonpY9QUie
— Sam Holako (@rapsfan) November 16, 2016
Warriors @ Toronto preview: Taking the show on the road… – Golden State Of Mind
Perimeter defense – The Raptors are a solid team on both sides, but as a unit they have struggled to get their shots to fall, making a pitiful 29% of their three point attempts on average this season. The Warriors can’t be fooled by this however. Toronto does have good shooters, and if the Warriors fall asleep on defense as they’ve been prone to doing all season, this could get messy. They also have to be aware of the ball handler attacking the basket; Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson still haven’t gotten out of the habit of funneling their man to the middle. They did this for years with Andrew Bogut protecting the rim, but with Zaza Pachulia in his place, it’s simply not a good idea.
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