Wake-up calls are all the Raps need: DeRozan

Call off the search. DeMar DeRozan has the answer to that familiar question.

Why does it always take the Toronto Raptors to get punched in the mouth before they wake up and get into a playoff series?

“We’re like some bad kids, I guess,” DeRozan said Wednesday morning. “We got to get a whuppin’ before we act right and get in line. It’s always great to be able to see first-hand your own mistakes, take from it, be a professional and be able to respond to it.”

The latter part of the quote is in reference to the Raptors’ ability to go into a film session after a bad game and come out of it with some answers. They did that following Game 3 in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, when it looked like they had lost all hope of ever winning another game again. They did that in the Indiana Pacers series a year ago and the Miami Heat series that followed that one.

They even did it in the Cleveland series in last year’s Eastern Conference final, but with one glaring difference — it took them two games and a return home before they punched back. The obvious hope is that a year later, it wouldn’t take so long.

But those other clubs don’t have LeBron James, and the Cavaliers do. Still, the feeling among the Raptors from the coaches down to the players is that they’re giving the Cavs too much credit at the cost of not being themselves.

“Not to be trite, but we want to come out to compete to win,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. “That’s a big part of this league, the confidence level, the believe level that you’re coming out to win.

“They’re a good team, but still, we had the same … regular season record. We know who they are, but we’ve got to come out with the confidence not just to try to play close, but to win. Anything less than that, we’re cheating ourselves.”