I hope you are not talking about the playoffs(which is were my real gripe sits) because he has never put the team on his back nor Lowry. During the regular season he is going to have amazing games and crappy ones, and a bunch that are somewhere in the middle. That alone dens't make me put a player on a pedestal. In his playoff performances if he were averaging 32 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists in losses then you could say yeah he did everything he could to win. He averages 20 points a game. Again this isn't the playoffs and that is a different game. Now that the Cavs don't seem to be a dominant the Raps have a chance to make the East final.
Obviously I am using those numbers as examples of give a shit type of game. His numbers go down in the playoffs as does Lowry's. When he plays bad I make comments to posters when I disagree with them. When i go at DeRozan I use stats to back up most of my claims. people rarely debate that and move the posts to arguments after every few games of "oh, look, DeRozan is good and you're wrong". I have never said DeRozan is bad. I have never said the Raptors are a bad team. I clearly give examples of where I think DeRozan's game lacks and you guys can't handle it.Obviously I wasn't talking about playoffs but it's a very small sample size. You say only playoffs matter yet when he plays bad you are quick to jump in here. He had 2 straight ad games and he was "look like Derozan is on a big cold streak". Regular season doesn't matter though?
Also he averages 21.7 PPG in the playoffs. His career average is 19.7 so I think you're over blowing this just a tad. Don't let facts ruin your arguement though.
Your expectation is 32-7-7 in losses? So be the best in the world then you will admit he's good?
Have you been watching/listening to the US media? TOR hasn't been getting any respect (save for Barkley) south of the border.
This was as impressive of a win by the Raptors as I've witnessed since I first started paying close attention to the team (from the Gay trade onward). What made it such for me is the fact that they owned Houston at their own game. They destroyed them when it came to perimeter defense. It was by far the biggest reason they won this game, even given their dominant 1st quarter. Houston would've won the game still IMO, if it wasn't for TOR closing the gaps in such an impressive fashion. They suffocated the Rockets' 3 point game, save for Harden (not really stoppable from downtown in any sort of consistent fashion no matter the team facing him). I realize TOR was very motivated for tonight's game, but I've never seen anything like this from this team before as long as I have been watching them. If (and that's a big if), they can push themselves to play like this defensively - you better watch out.
I'd agree with your last statement with one caveat. If by legit you mean that the Raps have a shot at winning it all then I'll be the first one to disagree. But they are a top echelon team in the NBA, no doubt and tonight's win didn't do much to sway my opinion one way or another. I still don't believe they can beat either HOU or GS in a seven game series, BUT it was this last game of theirs where I saw a different team. They still have ways to go to try and find this level consistently (I maintain that I have never seen it before) and that's a big ask and a tall order.
IF you generalize all his numbers. I take his stats on a season to season basis. If he scores 27 during the regular season and 22 in the playoffs, that's a problem. 22 points a game are not superstar numbers neither is getting spanked in the playoffs the way they have. The reason why they don't get any attention in the States is because they are just a good team. They haven't beaten anyone of any stature. The playoffs is where you have to step your game up and the raptors have never been able to find that second gear. On top of that the East has been terrible for many seasons and they still didn't look that good. That's why they don't get respect.
