Toronto Raptors: Don’t Put Your Hopes on DeMar DeRozan
By Paul Taylor
With Jonas Valanciunas out, DeMar DeRozan will now be expected to step up for the Toronto Raptors against the Miami Heat, but don’t count on it.
Only Toronto Raptors fans (or indeed Toronto sports supporters in general) could hold a 2-1 series lead and home court advantage, but still be concerned about their team’s chances of progressing to the next round. In fairness though, there is some justification.
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Jonas Valanciunas has been the Raptors best player so far against the Miami Heat (and arguably during their playoff run as a whole). As such, when it was confirmed he would miss the remainder of the second round series, a familiar sense of impending doom spread across Raptors Nation.
Of course, if the team’s two resident All-Stars were playing at a level similar to the regular season, there would be less reason to fear what lay ahead. Instead, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have yet to impose their will with any degree of consistency through 10 playoff games.
There is some hope with Lowry, if his second half performance on Saturday evening is anything to go by. However, with his ongoing elbow issue, can the point guard be relied upon to repeat his 33 point scoring blitz with any regularity?
As such, it is understandable the team would look to DeRozan to step up his game, especially after leading them in scoring during the regular season. Unfortunately, the shooting guard is himself dealing with an injury which is affecting his game.
Following practice on Sunday, the 26-year old had his right thumb wrapped in ice. As confirmed by the Toronto Star’s Chris O’Leary, he twisted his thumb in Game 1 of the series.
DeRozan has confessed the thumb injury on his shooting hand is compromising his shot, as he is unable to grip the ball properly. He is doing everything possible to counter the problem and rest the thumb, even resorting to using his left hand for everyday tasks such as brushing his teeth.
As we’ve discussed previously, the former ninth overall draft pick can compensate for his shooting woes – which he was suffering from before the thumb injury – by helping the Raptors in other ways. In that respect, he did contribute six rebounds and five assists against the Heat in Game 3.
Further, at least DeRozan is showing some sense, shooting 42.5 percent against Miami, partly assisted by not attempting any three pointers. Unfortunately, he is compromising this, with only seven of his 63 attempts in the three games coming from within three feet of the basket.
In truth, the Compton, California native only seems to know one way to deal with any shooting issues, and that is to, as Lowry previously described, “empty his clip”. While this was good enough to clinch the first round series against the Indiana Pacers, his game-high 30 points came by making just 10 of 32 shots.
Overall, DeRozan – along with Lowry – will have a major say in how the rest of the second round matchup with the Heat pans out. And while there is absolutely no issue with being proven wrong, that isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Next: Valanciunas to miss rest of Heat series
What are you expecting from DeRozan for the remainder of this series against the Heat? Do you think he will continue to underperform, or rise to the challenge? Let us know in the comments section below.