The Toronto Raptors, led by star backcourt-mates Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, have established themselves as an elite NBA team, in the upper echelon of playoff contenders. Toronto isn’t up there with the Warriors or Cavaliers, but they’re in that next tier. Despite their 22-10 record, two-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan does not feel that the Raptors get the respect that they deserve. From David Aldridge of NBA.com:
Yeah, for sure, especially what we accomplished last year, showing all we did wasn’t a fluke. We went six games with the NBA champions. We won a franchise record in games. We accomplished so much. And it seems we still don’t get our just due, like it was an accident. We’ve been getting better every single year. And I think that’s been our motivation every time we go out there and play, no matter who we play against. We are a team that should be respected like all the other top teams in the league.
DeRozan is enjoying the finest campaign of his career this season, averaging career-best numbers in points per game (27.4), rebounds per game (5.2), and assists per game (4.1) while shooting 47.3% from the field.
