Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan Proves Himself When it Matters Most

With the season, and arguably the future of the current Toronto Raptors roster on the line, DeMar DeRozan comes through when it matters most.

As times during the first round series against the Indiana Pacers, the Toronto Raptors seemed to be almost hanging on for dear life. When you consider the available talent on both sides, such a scenario would have seemed preposterous beforehand.

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However, that’s almost the way it’s meant to be with the Raptors, and indeed Toronto sports teams in general. Canada’s NBA team has had little to cheer about during their existence, with things still going wrong even when everything was set up perfectly for them to succeed.

As such, the scene was set on Sunday night, for Dwane Casey’s team to slay the demons of the previous 20 years. In some respects, it was now or never for a team which had enjoyed the best regular season in franchise history.

One of the hallmarks of this Raptors team is its strength in depth. In that respect, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll and Bismack Biyombo have all had their moments during the series against the Pacers.

However, this is a star-driven league, set up for the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to succeed. Both struggled mightily at times against the Pacers, failing to show the form which had earned them back-to-back All-Star Game trips.

With Lowry suffering from ongoing elbow issues, this left it to DeRozan to prove himself, when it mattered most. Fortunately for Raptors fans, he came through in style, with a game-high 30 points:

Such was the 26-year old’s impact, the 13 points he scored in the first quarter were more than he managed in three of the previous six games. Of course, this was also evidence of his shooting woes, but at least he proved he can come through when the stakes are raised.

Speaking to the Toronto Star‘s Doug Smith and the rest of the media, DeRozan explained the team mindset after the game, but may have well been talking about just himself: “We were just going to leave it all out there whatever we had, beginning to the end and that’s how the guys played.”

Lowry also spoke to Smith, and explained how the team was going to follow DeRozan’s lead, no matter what happened: “He was going to empty his clip and that’s what he did tonight and that’s what his goal was and we were going to ride with him emptying that clip.”

Of course, the Raptors being the Raptors, they had to cause some anxiety for their fans, seeing a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter shrink all the way down to three inside the final minute. However, Paul George suffered a costly turnover and DeRozan iced the game at the charity stripe.

Moving forward, the Raptors will have little time to bask in the glow of victory, as they prepare to host the Miami Heat in round two on Tuesday night. However, the fact they are actually down to the final eight – with home court advantage no less – is reason enough to celebrate.

Next: Almost ordained to come down to game 7

Now that you’ve had a chance to catch your breath, what are your thoughts on the Raptors finally winning a seven-game series? Moving forward, how do you think they’ll do against the Heat in the second round? Lets us know in the comments section below.

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