IT’S PLAYOFF TIME IN NBA
Bucks first up for Raptors
The moment has arrived for the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan, a moment he pines for every offseason when he puts in long hours and gets off thousands of practice shots in honing his game when it matters most.
For DeRozan, the playoffs are the measuring stick — the ultimate litmus test — regardless of what’s already been accomplished during the regular season.
The playoff journey for the No. 3-seeded Raptors begins Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre against the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, a young, athletic team going up against a Raptors team that is more experienced, deeper and more accomplished.
Not since the days of Vince Carter and “Vinsanity” has the franchise seen a player produce so much on the offensive side of the court. DeRozan finished among the top-five scorers in the NBA and is one of the best at drawing contact and getting to the line, much like Carter was before him.
A sure sign of DeRozan’s focus and maturity is his reluctance to dwell on his success in favour of focusing on the playoffs and hopefully a deep run for the Raptors.
If the likes of DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, to name a few, elevate their game, this best-ofseven series should be over rather quickly. Five games, perhaps even six.
Clearly, the Raptors go in as the favourite, but the Bucks should be loose with nothing to lose given that few pundits are giving them much hope against the Raptors.
The Raptors’ game plan is simple enough: limit turnovers and don’t allow Milwaukee to trigger its fastbreak game. If they can do that, the Raptors will move on.
DeRozan figures to play a leading role in making sure that happens.
At times, opposing teams pack the paint trying to deny driving lanes for DeRozan. Sometimes they send an extra defender at DeRozan trying to force him to the baseline.
Along with his scoring prowess, DeRozan became an even better passer this season, which has helped elevate him into a league all-star.
“Every year, I try to come with an answer for something from the year previously,’’ said DeRozan. “I think that’s what experience brings. That’s why you work extremely hard, why you pay attention, why you study the game and find ways to be better. I don’t dwell on the past. I just try to apply myself to get better.’’
DeRozan takes pride in how the Raptors responded when Lowry missed 21 games following wrist surgery.
And to a degree, got even better when Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker were acquired. It also had a positive effect on team chemistry.
“My mindset all year was understanding how we could get better,’’ said DeRozan. “Especially when this situation (Lowry injury) came about. I think we definitely feel a lot more confident.”
The added attention opponents
I know it’s on me to make my teammates better, it’s on me to make the right play and I’m more accepting of it this time around.
put on DeRozan became more pronounced during Lowry’s absence, forcing DeRozan to become even better at recognizing defences and making the right decision with the ball.
“I’m prepared for it,’’ said DeRozan of what scheme the Bucks throw at him.
“For me, it’s a great challenge and I kind of feed off that type of attention. I know it’s on me to make my teammates better, it’s on me to make the right play and I’m more accepting of it this time around, understanding how teams are going to play me, the attention I’m going to draw defensively,’’ he said.
“It’s on me to make things easier on my teammates. It definitely helped (opposing teams) when Kyle was out, but now they’ve got to worry about both of us this time around.”
At the end of the day, that’s where the Raptors have the biggest edge with the two all-stars in Lowry and DeRozan, both of whom have proven to be solid playoff performers.
When he reflects on his remarkable season, DeRozan doesn’t dwell on it.
“I did OK,’’ he said when asked for a self-assessment. “But now for me, the real thing starts. This is why I worked all summer for. For me, my measuring stick doesn’t happen until Saturday.”