National Post (National Edition)
For DeRozan, it’s now a question of sustainability
Post season will tell if he’s a superstar
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 points masterpiece Monday night 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 on the clock and the crowd chanting “M-V-P!” Teammate Kyle Lowry then 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 the level he’s able to reach on a sustained basis.
There are all-stars such as DeRozan, then the superstars in the class of LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. But to be in that elite category one must be good in every game, rising to an even higher level when the post-season begins.
In many of the past springs, 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 overall as a Kawhi Leonard, but DeRozan is knocking on the door.
Klay Thompson is the consensus top shooting guard in the NBA, a bomber with amazing range and among the top wing defenders in the game.
DeRozan is no John Wall or a Chris Paul, ball handlers who play the point. He’s certainly capable of being in a group with the likes of a Paul George.
Reputations are secured in the post-season when legacies are forged.
There’s plenty of time before the NBA’s second season tips off, enough time for the Raptors to stay in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the East and for DeRozan to garner more attention, especially in the U.S.
Ironically, it was DeRozan’s pick and roll defence 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 pick and 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 following Tuesday’s gathering at the team’s BioSteel training facility. “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.
“He made plays out of tough situations,’’ said Casey, who won a title in Dallas when the Mavs had a true superstar in Dirk Nowitzki.
“Superstars make those plays,’’ continued Casey as he recounted moments when the Bucks blitzed DeRozan, forcing DeRozan to make the right read, which is precisely what he did all night. “Draw up all the plays you want, but superstars make lemonade out of lemons.
“That’s what he did (Monday night). Whether it was driving down the lane, in transition, whatever it was, he made it happen with the defence draped all over him. That’s what every superstar I’ve worked with I’ve seen do. It’s not about Xs, not about Os, not about the other four guys out there.”
DeRozan received several congratulatory messages and acknowledged the special feeling knowing his peers took notice.
“That was definitely the cool part,’’ he said of his franchise-record scoring output.