National Post (National Edition)
Raptors put the ball in DeRozan’s court
There was no clear answer to whether Kyle Lowry would play in Game 3 as their Eastern Conference semifinal against the Cleveland Cavaliers shifted to the Air Canada Centre. But his playing status wasn’t really relevant.
It’s not that the Raptors couldn’t use their floor general but even if he played, there was really no way he would be 100 per cent.
In other words, the ball and the Raptors’ chances in Game 3 were being put in DeMar DeRozan’s court.
Raptors’ head coach Dwane Casey is fond of using the sentiment, “We’ll only go as far as Kyle and DeMar take us.”
Without a healthy Lowry, that statement likely is no longer true. If the Raptors are to get back in the series — they trailed 2-0 after losing both games in Cleveland — DeRozan will need to play a leading role.
Through two games of the series, the Cavs have kept DeRozan under wraps.
Game 1 was not horrible but even after DeRozan’s 19-point effort, Cleveland’s J.R. Smith was getting plenty of kudos for his defensive work. As the primary defender against DeRozan in Game 2, Smith limited DeRozan to just five points.
Through two games, DeRozan was fourth in team scoring. If his contributions continue at that rate, the Raptors have little chance of even getting this series to a fifth game.
In short, as DeRozan goes, so goes the rest of this series.
If he can get it going like he did a year ago in similar circumstances (although Lowry was healthy then) the Raptors have a fighting chance at least.
Casey believes he can tweak things in order to get DeRozan going again.
“DeMar’s had games like that before and bounced back,” Casey said. “They did a good job but I gotta do a better job of getting him the ball in areas where he doesn’t have extra bodies around.
Whether the Raptors can force the issue this year with Lowry out or at less than 100 per cent comes down to how well DeRozan responds back on his home court.