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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Given how poorly their two best players have shot the ball, the Toronto Raptors could be, and probably should be in worse shape heading into Game 5 of their first-round series against Indiana, now tied up at two wins apiece.

It's no secret that DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry aren't exactly lighting it up. Together, the backcourt duo is hitting 31 per cent of its shots. Their best outing, a decisive Game 3 victory, saw them shoot 37 and 38 per cent respectively.

Through four games, win or lose, the narrative hasn't changed much: What's up with Lowry and DeRozan? All eyes are on Toronto's struggling stars as they aim to find their rhythm before it's too late, and even they are past the point of sugarcoating it.

"We just stink right now when it comes to me and Kyle," DeRozan said. "We haven't let it frustrate us, we haven't complained, we're not whining. It's all part of the game. You go through your ups and downs but it's all about how you figure it out and the process to get out of that. [If] we do what we're supposed to do all this will be erased."

"I would be lying to you if I said I'm not upset at how I'm playing, I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't, but I've got to be positive," Lowry insisted. "At the end of the day my teammates really bank on me to be positive and lead these guys and that's what I'm going to do no matter what."

Even with the Pacers' third-ranked defence and their own spotty, albeit brief playoff resumes in mind, few could have imagined they would fall this far having just come off of career seasons. The numbers are glaring. DeRozan has shot under 40 per cent in four straight games for the first time since last year, shortly after his return from injury. He's failed to get to the line in two of four contests, something he did just three times over the previous three years, and has totalled as many turnovers as assists in the series.

Lowry - who made over 200 three-pointers to lead the Eastern Conference this season, shooting a career-best 39 per cent from beyond the arc - has hit just five of his 27 attempts. On Sunday he admitted what most have already pieced together from watching: many of those shots were rushed.

Led by George Hill and Paul George, one of the league's best perimeter stoppers, Indiana's defence has aimed to smother Lowry and DeRozan. They've been physical with them, they've taken them out of their comfort zones on the floor and, as a result, they've caused them to speed up and force shots they wouldn't or shouldn't take otherwise.

If you thought watching Saturday's lopsided Game 4 loss was painful the first time, the Raptors have spent the better part of the two days leading to Tuesday's Game 5 reliving it, breaking it down. What they call strategy some might call torture, but perhaps that's their punishment for a truly embarrassing effort, a missed opportunity to take a stranglehold of the series.

One of the things they will see when they watch the tape is that all 15 of DeRozan's shots were contested. Over the course of the series, he and Lowry have attempted 40 per cent of Toronto's shots, yet 79 per cent of them have come with a hand in their face.

For all the talk of adjustments, a word that is thrown around more than the ball this time of year, that's where Toronto's most important players have to start: shot selection. There is a fine line between continuing to play your game, something that DeRozan and Lowry are both encouraged to do despite their recent slump, and continuing to force your game.

As good as Indiana's defence has been, maybe it's not the matchup that needs adapting to, it's playoff basketball in general. Last year it was Washington that held the Raptors' backcourt tandem to 36 per cent, en route to a four-game sweep. The season before that, they shot 39 per cent in the Brooklyn series. The playoffs test you in ways the regular season can't. Opponents have days or, in some cases, weeks to prepare for you, to study your tendencies, identify what you do best and devise a game plan to take those things away. Then it's on you to, yes, adjust.

Fortunately for the Raptors, who have home-court advantage in what has become a best-of-three, they've managed to tread water without their best players performing anywhere close to the level that's expected of them. Strangely, in a series with three stars - Lowry, DeRozan and George - three of the four games have been decided by the supporting casts. Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll and the reserves, namely Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph, played crucial roles in the two Raptors wins, while Ian Mahinmi and George Hill helped lift the Pacers to their Game 4 victory at home. Mostly, it's a product of both teams keying in on the other's star players, forcing the complimentary guys to step up, but it's also a function of Lowry - and in the case of Saturday's game, George - making the conscious decision to be a play maker.

That's an area where Lowry really excels, his ability to read the defence, to read the game situation and determine what is needed from him and when. One quarter he will dictate the tempo with his hard play, break down the defence and find open teammates; the next he can take over the game offensively, pulling up from distance or getting to the free throw line. DeRozan is capable of influencing the game in different ways but, historically, he hasn't shown that same level of recognition. That's his biggest obstacle in this series and the very thing that's holding him back from taking the next step as a player. Unless George forgets how to defend or decides DeRozan isn't worth his time, both unlikely, he would be wise to accept that less is more and take a page out of Lowry's book. The team would almost certainly be better for it.

"We haven't seen their best and they know that," Casey said. "It may not be by scoring points, it may be by moving the basketball, it may be by helping defensively. [On Saturday] Ian Mahinmi scored 22 and George Hill had [22 points], it wasn't Paul George, but Paul George was facilitating and that may be what DeMar has to do. We've talked about that, he may have to be a facilitator. He's our leading scorer, he's gotta take the shots that are there but in other situations where they're taking him out he has to move the ball, and he understands that."

"Sometimes as a great player, you see LeBron [James] do it all the time, sometimes you gotta use yourself for the team," said Carroll. "You know, you gotta draw double teams and kick it and trust your teammates. You see guys, superstars, do it all the time. And I feel like Kyle and DeMar, they’re superstars just as much as other guys."

Defensively, Carroll has had his hands full with George - he's held the Pacers' leading scorer to just 10 points on 3-of-18 shooting when the two have been matched over the last couple games - but he's somebody who can help take pressure off the guards, assuming they look for him. Since his minute restriction was lifted last week, Carroll has turned in two of his better outings as a Raptor, averaging 14.5 points and hitting seven of his 17 three-pointers. They also can't forget about Valanciunas, their best player through the first three games, who took just seven shots on Saturday after turning 18 attempts into 23 points to lead the charge in Game 2.

Whether they get to the bottom of their shooting woes or not, whether they lead the team in scoring or defer to others, one way or another Lowry and DeRozan hold the Raptors' playoff fate in their hands. The question, and it's a big one, is: what are they going to do with it?

"We're going to ride or die with DeMar and Kyle," Casey maintained "They haven't shot the ball great, but it's still basketball. We're going to go with them, they're our star players, they're all-stars for a reason and we're trying, as a coach and as a staff, to try to put them in the best position to be successful. There's a lot written about the numbers and all that, but at the end of the day, it's a 2-2 series."

"No excuses made, we have to play better," Lowry said. "It hasn’t been pretty. We have two wins and that’s a positive but we still have to play better for our team to go further."