Knocking on the door of elite
Until DeMar DeRozan shines when the basketball spotlight is at its brightest, when the stakes are at their highest, the rewards at their greatest, there will always be the shred of doubt.
No one can ever take away from his 52-point masterpiece produced Monday night in the Raptors’ thrilling overtime win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, as close to a post-season backdrop as you’ll find at this time of the 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.
He was great and for that no one can argue.
Greatness must be sustained and it remains to be seen, for obvious reasons, how DeRozan plays and what level he’s able reach on a sustained basis.
There are all-stars such as DeRozan, superstars in the class of LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, but to be in that elite category one must do it each and every day, 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 Brooklyn Nets, the sweep at the hands of the Washington Wizards, the long run that ended in six games versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, 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 unconscionable range and among the top wing defenders in the game. DeRozan is no Thompson, John Wall or a Chris Paul, ball handlers who play the point.
But he’s certainly capable of being in a group with the likes of a Paul George.
Regardless of one’s opinion, the defining moment, like it always does, arrives in the post-season when legacies are forged, reputations established.
There’s plenty of time before the NBA’s second season tips off, enough games for the Raptors to stay in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and for DeRozan to garner more attention, especially south of the border.
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,’’ Casey said 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.
It’s now a question of sustainability.
What DeRozan did Monday, and his 45-point game versus the 76ers in Philadelphia on Dec. 21, was the stuff of superstardom, a description that only applies to a handful of players, the game’s true elite.
He’s not there, far from it, but DeRozan has had glimpses 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 Mavericks 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 franchiserecord scoring output.