The Toronto Raptors stars seem to subscribe to the playoff mantra of "Better late than never."
After one of the most miserable performances for a pair of All-Star guards in a key playoff game you will ever see in Game 3, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry answered the call in Game 4, combining for 51 points on 20-of-39 shooting as the Raptors evened their series 2-2 with the upstart Milwaukee Bucks, 87-76.
It was an ugly, tough affair, the kind of playoff game that shows mettle and the Raptors showed up just when they needed it most.
Here's the question ... what does that say about them? The Raptors had an opportunity to shrug off their fourth straight Game 1 failure and grab control of the series in Game 3, and instead they face-planted so hard it was one of the worst beatdowns in playoff history. They responded Saturday, however, willing their team to victory in an ugly game on the road that was a must-win. What does that say? That they deliver when they absolutely have to? That they're only good when their backs are against the wall? They avoided a 3-1 deficit, which, recent notable history or no, would have spelled doom for the 3-seed. They avoided embarrassment.
But they also gave their team a chance to get this series back under control and actually advance. It's a three-game series now, with two if necessary in Toronto. The Raptors aren't great at home in the playoffs, don't get me wrong, but they need every advantage they can get. DeRozan was confident as all get out, and used his post moves more effectively.
One major change was how often the Raptors put Derozan and Lowry in isolation situations. Those hero-ball mechanics are a losing proposition against most defenses, but with the Bucks' heavy-help trapping defense, getting them in space to let the Raptors cook is a better approach:
Watch DeRozan size up the defense, move toward the help which means the weakside stays away, and then he spins back to his left to get the shot he wants:
Meanwhile, Lowry got the space he needed. The Bucks weren't as aggressive in their on-ball defense, which meant that Lowry had the ability to get a running start.
The Raptors' defense was just as responsible for this one, playing terrific with a smaller lineup that saw Jonas Valanciunas in a much reduced role. P.J. Tucker was an unholy terror vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks generally just couldn't hit anything. They were just frozen solid. The Raptors weren't much better (41 percent from the field), but they had the best players on the floor in DeRozan and Lowry, and that was all they needed.
Here's the frustrating thing about Toronto: it didn't feel like a turning point. This wasn't the superior team grabbing the reigns of the series and letting the upstarts know they've been here and know what to do. They just happened to get the better performances from a pair of stars who are, if anything, a roll of the dice in the playoffs for whether they'll deliver. What do they get in Game 5? Does this DeRozan show up, or the score-only guard who went 0-for-8 in Game 3? This isn't just this series. The Raptors were nearly eliminated in the first two rounds last year when they made the conference finals, in large part because of disappearing acts by those two.
Can you have faith they'll deliver? What if Milwaukee makes counter-adjustments to take away Toronto's comfort zone in Game 5? This is the constant problem with the Raptors: they are just as likely to find themselves as they are to fall apart. It's a coin flip in every game vs. not-great competition, no matter how great they've made the Bucks look. Milwaukee is a good team, with dangerous young talent that has played phenomenal in this series to get this 2-2 split. But the Raptors should also be better, not barely getting by to get a split, when the Bucks continued to hang around until the final three minutes of a game they shot 37 percent in.
The dice came up right for the Raptors on Saturday, and DeRozan deserves just as much credit for saving the day as he does for bringing the apocalypse to his team's door. You can't have any confidence in the Raptors to win this series, nor any real belief that they are doomed. They are a Magic 8-Ball that came up with the right answer on Saturday, and at least for now, have given themselves another turn, starting with Game 5 in Toronto on Monday.
