Columnist image

TSN Raptors Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO - Although the Raptors aren't exactly peaking at the right time it appears DeMar DeRozan is finally starting to hit his stride, which is good news for a team in desperate need of some kind of spark.

Simultaneously, the team and its leading scorer had hit rock bottom in a loss to the lowly New York Knicks three weeks ago. DeRozan capped off an ugly February, one of the worst months of his six-year career, with a 3-for-15, 13-point performance in Toronto's fifth straight defeat.

No moment encapsulated his slump quite like the fast-break 360 dunk he botched in the first half of that game. It still haunts him to this day.

"See, I almost forgot about that," the Raptors' guard said with a smile and a laugh when it was brought up following Sunday's 106-89 win over those same Knicks. "Now you wanna bring it up? I'm trying to move on."

Exorcising those demons with two vicious one-handed jams in the first quarter of that most recent victory over New York, DeRozan continued his personal tear through the month of March, easily his best stretch in what had been an otherwise down season. 

DeRozan is averaging 24.4 points this month, third among Eastern Conference players and eighth in the NBA. 

Often a lightning rod of criticism for his suspect shot selection, DeRozan has been notably efficient, silencing the critics that were questioning his fit on the roster a month ago. He's shooting 46 per cent from the field, up from 34 per cent in February, getting to the line 64 times over the last seven games. A 27 per cent career three-point shooter, he's hit half of his attempts from distance in March. He's also averaging 4.0 assists, quarterbacking the offence as a secondary ball handler with the starting unit.

Most importantly, he's playing with a certain bounce in his step, something that was noticeably absent from his game as he worked his way back from a groin injury that cost him 21 games earlier in the campaign.

"Just getting my rhythm [back]," the 25-year-old told reporters following practice Monday afternoon. "Ever since I came back, it was tough, bouncing back from my injury, just getting my legs back under me, getting my rhythm that I had before I got hurt. Really just playing with the ultimate confidence and feeling good again."

"It took me a while," he continued. "It took me a while but even when I was struggling when I first came back I was trying to fight through it the best way that I could and I knew it was going to come around at some point."

Indeed, DeRozan never seemed to get down on himself. Even after that Feb. 28 loss in New York, he insisted that he'd bounce back from the mid-season slump and be better for it by the time the playoffs rolled around. The following game, and first in March, he dropped a season-high 35 points on Philadelphia and hasn't looked back since.

He's hit at least half of his shots in seven of 11 games this month after doing so in one of 11 contests during February. He's scored 20 or more in all but one game in March after accomplishing that feat three times last month.

"I think one thing is he's just getting his rhythm," said head coach Dwane Casey. "When you have the type of injury he had, it was a major injury, for him to come back and be in mid-season form was unlikely. I thought it just took him a little while longer to get his sea legs, get in NBA condition, get to a situation where mentally he could take the hits, the blows, the bumps without being affected by it. I think now he's getting to that stage of the season. And it takes a while. When you miss 21 games it takes a while to come back, I don't care who you are."

"I see DeMar being an MVP-calibre type player in this league eventually," proclaimed the always dogmatic Greivis Vasquez. "He works extremely hard and unfortunately the injury this year really set him back, but he's getting back to his own and he's helping us win."

To the point both DeRozan and Casey would make repeatedly last month, the guard's game - and more specifically his shot selection - remains relatively the same regardless of the result. Meaning, although he's been a bit more aggressive and forcing the issue a little less, he's taking the same shots this month as he did last. The primary difference is their falling.

"Offensively, I'm not concerned," Casey said. "I'm more concerned about his contributions defensively. Offensively it does open things up because it gives you another ball handler. But believe it or not, he's kind of an anchor for our defence. He quarterbacks, he knows when to tag, he knows the defensive system, he can help communicate and direct."

"We all just need to get there on both ends," DeRozan added. "And get back to playing the basketball we were playing at the beginning of the season."

With Kyle Lowry in and out of the lineup and the team's defence continuing to slip, DeRozan's revival is a welcomed development, especially if he can carry it over to his second career playoff series next month.