DeMar DeRozan on Raptors' backcourt: 'We stink right now'

ByMike Mazzeo ESPN logo
Sunday, April 24, 2016

TORONTO -- Toronto Raptors guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are not pleased with their production in the playoffs -- and both know they have to pick it up.

The All-Stars have shot a combined 30.8 percent from the field in the first four games of Toronto's first-round series against the .Indiana Pacers.

"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 are 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 it takes to get out of that. If we do what we are supposed to do, all of this be erased.

"We just have to be better. We are not the players who we are in this league for no reason. Like I said, we all go through some type of lows in our career at some point. You can't complain when the playoffs come. You can't do that. You have to be able to take it on the chin and figure it out. We will figure it out the best way we can for our teammates."

DeRozan and Lowry are averaging 28.8 points combined during the postseason, compared to 44.7 during the regular season. Pacers defenders Paul George and George Hill have stifled Toronto's backcourt duo, forcing DeRozan and Lowry into tough shots.

In Game 4, DeRozan went 4-for-15 from the field and had eight points and six turnovers, while Lowry battled foul trouble and finished with 12 points and five assists on 4-for-12 shooting -- including 0-for-5 from 3-point range. The Raptors lost 100-83.

All 15 of DeRozan's attempts in Game 4 were contested, and for the series, the duo hasn't gotten many easy looks; 79 percent of their shots have been contested, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

DeRozan has not gone to the free throw line in two games this series after ranking third in the NBA in free throw attempts per game during the regular season.

"I would be lying to you if I said I'm not upset with how I'm playing," Lowry said. "But I have to stay positive and lead these guys -- and that's what I'm going to do no matter how I'm shooting the ball."

The series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is Tuesday night at Air Canada Centre.