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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - The easiest way to explain Toronto's recent inconsistency as a team is through the substandard work turned in by its two best players of late.

Simply put, when Kyle Lowry and/or DeMar DeRozan are at their best, or anywhere close to it, the Raptors are a very good team. However, neither guard has performed up to that level in at least a month, to their own admission.

"I'm trash," said Lowry, asked where his game is at these days following a Thursday morning practice at the Air Canada Centre. "I'm trying to figure it out right now, to be honest with you. I don't know, that's why I'm in here, working hard and trying to figure out what to do to get myself back on track."

More than anything else, Lowry's frustration lies in his missing jump shot. The all-star point guard is shooting less than 30 per cent from the field during Toronto's three-game losing streak, hitting just three of his 22 three-point tries.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, he's not alone. DeRozan is shooting the ball at a 34 per cent clip over that same stretch, with the two of them combining to go 4-for-18 in the fourth quarter of those contests, as Toronto has given up leads of 18 and 13 points in back-to-back losses to New Orleans and Dallas.

"It happens," DeRozan said. "You're going to have some type of drought at some point in the season. It just happens. It can be many sorts of things, fatigue, or whatever it may be."

Neither player has seemed right, at least not consistently, since DeRozan returned from a 21-game layoff due to injury in early January. While the Raptors' swingman has worked his way back from the first serious ailment of his career, Lowry has looked spent at times having carried the team on his shoulders in DeRozan's absence.

Their work in February has reflected that. Both guards are shooting below 37 per cent from the field and a combined 16-for-72 (22 per cent) from long distance this month.

Of greater concern, they both seem to be settling, particularly late in games.

Lowry is attempting fewer shots at the rim and getting to the line just 3.4 times per game this month, nearly two less free throws than he averaged in December and almost three less than his mark in November. Many of his jumpers in the fourth have come early in the shot clock, including two threes in the critical closing moments of Tuesday's loss to the Mavericks.

"I wouldn't categorize [his play] as trash," Dwane Casey said, informed of Lowry's earlier statement. "He's being hard on himself. Nobody is playing great basketball right now for us, as far as offence and defence. I'm more concerned about our defence than our offence. I think our offence will come around and play at a level where we'll be able to compete."

"I really do believe that the offence will take care of itself with ball movement, shot selection and spacing. Those things are correctable. You can't make a ball go in when you take that shot, but what you can control is spacing and ball movement."

DeRozan's shot selection has been a hot topic this season and throughout most of his six-year NBA career. The 25-year-old has made a living in the league off of taking, and making, what would be very tough shots for most players. He practices those shots and has proved he can hit them, but does he rely on them more than he should?

"I mean with me personally, see, I'm different from a lot people," DeRozan said. "I hate taking wide open shots sometimes because that's a harder shot for me than a contested shot, honestly. That's my mindset, my mentality... If I feel like I can get it off, it's a good shot for me."

37 per cent of DeRozan's field goal attempts are long twos, between 16-feet of the basket and the three-point line, the highest since he entered the league. He's shooting those jumpers at a 33 per cent clip, the lowest mark of his career.

He has never been an especially efficient shooter - his effective field goal percentage (.403 - adjusted for made three-pointers being more valuable than twos) is also a career-low - but as long as he's getting to the free throw line at a high rate, DeRozan can still be an efficient scorer.

Although his free throw attempt rate is right on par with where it was last year, he's getting to the line sporadically this season. After shooting 35 free throws in three games before the all-star break - all wins - he's attempted just 14 in four contests since (they lost three of those games). Unless DeRozan is attacking the rim and getting to the line with regularity, he's unlikely to have a consistently positive impact on the team's offence. He's shot better than 40 per cent in just one of his last 11 outings.

Toronto's supporting cast may be partially responsible. While James Johnson has performed admirably in the starting lineup, his limited range does not allow for optimal spacing with that unit. If one or a combination of Lou Williams, Terrence Ross and Greivis Vasquez are not hitting their shots, there's even more pressure on and defensive attention paid to Lowry and DeRozan.

Deeper than they've been in year's past, the Raptors' opportunistic bench is capable of stepping up on any given night, a luxury that Lowry and DeRozan have enjoyed this season, but for this team to take the next step they'll need their best players performing at a much higher level.