Raptors not on the same page with struggling Lowry, DeRozan
The Toronto Raptors were all over the place on the court, and they were just as disorganized in the postgame scrum.
Following a 100-83 drubbing at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in Game 4, fingers were pointed squarely at the Raptors' two all-stars for their continued struggles.
After combining for 20 points on 27 shots with nine turnovers Saturday, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry now rank as two of the least efficient playoff performers since 1984.
The questions after the game naturally focused on their struggles, but the coach and the players sent mixed messages.
Head coach Dwane Casey dutifully took the blame for their poor play, citing the need for better sets.
"I've got to do a better job of getting DeMar quick, cleaner looks, to get him open a little bit better. I've got to figure out another way to try to get him better looks," Casey said.
"We've got to have (DeRozan) playing at a high level to have a chance to win this series. It's up to me and the staff to come up with something. We kinda had it figured out the last few games but we gotta go back to the drawing board again to get him cleaner looks."
On the other end, the stars themselves suggested the plays were fine. The explanation there is that they're just missing good looks.
"I feel like the shots I'm personally taking, and that DeMar is taking, they're shots we've made all year," Lowry said. " ... They're shots I'm comfortable with taking and they're just not falling right now.
"But I'm not going to shy away from taking them. I feel like the same thing with DeMar. Neither one of us is going to shy away from taking the shots that we've shot all year."
They might be taking the same shots, but Indiana's defenders are doing a masterful job of contesting them. The Pacers' entire game plan is to send extra defenders at Lowry and DeRozan, and daring others to beat them.
But to the point of Indiana sending extra bodies at DeRozan, Casey reiterated the need for him to focus on facilitating.
"When the pressure picks up like that, we've got to move the ball, we've got to trust the pass, and do a better job of getting other people involved when it's not going. They're sending the kitchen sink at him," Casey pleaded.
DeRozan agreed with his coach about making the extra pass, but he also pointed to shots not being made by others once he gave up the rock.
"I had four assists ... a lot of the time I found guys and we missed a lot of easy shots we normally make, so with that I could have had eight or nine assists," DeRozan added.