This week’s player in focus goes to a man playing out in Toronto. Yes ladies and gents Toronto have a basketball team and they’re very good!
DeMar DeRozan is straight out filthy ballin this season!!
Last week I mentioned a few players who I had in the conversation for early season MVP. How silly to forget this guy playing in Toronto. You wouldn’t really notice what he’s doing as no one actually talks about the Raptors. Along with fellow All Star point guard Kyle Lowry, the Raptors are off to a great start to the season going 5-2 through their first 7 games.
The Raptors took the league by storm last season, and just about became everybody’s favourite team in the playoffs. Their crowd is electric come post season time and there’s plenty of “We the North” flags and t shirts flying around. With Drake being their man ambassador sitting courtside getting players from opposition teams off their game, and the dominant back court duo doing their thing, this team is going places fast.
Back to DeRozen. What makes his start to the season so astonishing is the fact that he’s only made 2 3 balls this season. He knows his strength, he has one of the best mid-range games in the NBA. The only player I know that has a better pull up mid-range game than DeMar in the league is Carmelo Anthony.
DeRozen is averaging 33.7 PPG through his first 7 games, 2 of those games going for 40. He’s gone for 30+ in 6 of 7 games this season. Yet you wouldn’t hear a peep about him. Everybody wants to talk about Westbrook and Harden and I guess rightly so as they make all the flashy plays and put up close to triple double numbers, but you really can’t dismiss what this guy in Toronto is doing.
This team will once again feature in the playoffs and it’s fair to say it’ll probably be them and Cleveland battling it out in the Eastern Conference Finals. DeRozen and Lowry will do everything possible to get this team over the hump this time round and it’ll be a joy to watch the Air Canada Centre pumping again come playoff time.
We the North!
Dave Bauk