Toronto Raptors Need DeMar DeRozan to Follow Kyle Lowry’s Lead

MIAMI — Kyle Lowry’s return to All-Star form during Game 3 helped the Toronto Raptors reclaim home-court advantage in their second-round series with the Miami Heat.

Getting DeMar DeRozan to do the same could be a massive step toward securing Toronto’s first-ever spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This is a perimeter series now with both starting centers derailed by injuries. Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas has already been ruled out for the round with a sprained ankle. Miami’s Hassan Whiteside is officially day-to-day with an MCL sprain.

“It’s going to be our small ball versus their small ball,” Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll said. “… Some guys might have to play out of position, but you’ve got to be a basketball player. You can’t have a number.”

The loss of Valanciunas undoubtedly stings. He’s easily been the Raptors’ most efficient playoff performer (15.0 points on 55 percent shooting, 27.5 player efficiency rating). During this series, Toronto has outscored Miami by 39 points with him and been outscored by 37 without.

“Big, big blow for us,” Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said. “Big blow for JV. … But you know what? This is the life in the NBA, and we carry on.”

There are reasons for Toronto to stay confident. For starters, Valanciunas missed 22 games during the regular season, and the team won 16 of them.

More importantly, the Raptors have a superstar scoring source they’ve been unable to tap this postseason. DeRozan paced them in points (23.5), shots (17.7) and free-throw attempts (8.4) during the regular season, which they finished with the fifth-most efficient offense. Both his volume and efficiency have tailed considerably since the playoffs began.

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DeRozan is in the type of funk where it’s fair to question if he’ll get his groove back before the Raptors’ run ends. He’s played 10 postseason games so far and only had more points than shots in three.

But Lowry was struggling even worse than his backcourt mate. He became the first player in …

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