Can DeRozan perform like a superstar every night?
As always, Raptors guard will be judged in playoffs, writes Frank Zicarelli.
Until DeMar DeRozan shines when the basketball spotlight is at its brightest, when the stakes are at their highest, there will always be a shred of doubt.
No one can take away from his franchise-record 52-point masterpiece Monday in Toronto’s thrilling 131-127 overtime win over visiting Milwaukee. It was as close to a post-season backdrop as you’ll find at this time of the NBA season.
For one night, DeRozan was the complete package, unstoppable and unyielding on offence, unflinching when the ball was forced out of his hands, engaged on defence.
DeRozan’s record came on 17-for-29 shooting. He was 5-for-9 from three-point range, one shy of his career best, and he went a perfect 13-for-13 on free throws. He also had eight assists.
In a fitting ending, he broke the scoring record at the free throw line, which has been his bread and butter, with seven seconds left and the crowd chanting “M-V-P!” Teammate Kyle Lowry scooped up the game ball, leaving the court with it under one arm to present to DeRozan later.
Greatness must be sustained and it remains to be seen what level he can reach on a sustained basis.
There are all-stars such as DeRozan, then the superstar class including LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. To be in that elite category, one must be good in every game, rising to an even higher level when the post-season begins.
Whether it was the seven-game series versus the Nets, the sweep at the hands of Washington, the long run that ended in six games versus Cleveland, two wins short of playing for a championship, or last year’s semifinal appearance, DeRozan has been hit and miss, elevating one game, disappearing the next.
He doesn’t demand the ball like Kyrie Irving, isn’t known as that lockdown defender/scorer like Jimmy Butler, not as accomplished as a Kawhi Leonard. But DeRozan is knocking on the door.
It was DeRozan’s pick-and-roll defence Monday that impressed head coach Dwane Casey, who knows a thing or two about defence and how teams can only make long post-season runs by playing well on the defensive end.
“I thought he did a good job of taking away some of the pickand-roll stuff by getting into the ball, rear-view challenge, he had a couple of blocks and that’s what he has to have on the defensive end,” said Casey. “His offence speaks for itself.”
DeRozan has been much more lethal from distance, but he’s never had an extended stretch where his three-point shooting was efficient.
He scored 45 in Philly, the 52-point outburst Monday, each time DeRozan establishing his three-point game.
It’s now a question of sustainability.
What DeRozan did Monday was the stuff of superstardom. He’s not there yet, far from it, but DeRozan has had glimpses of it and his career arc has steadily gone up.