DeRozan, Cousins unimpressed with ESPN's team record projections
DeMar DeRozan has grown accustomed to people underestimating him and his Toronto Raptors, hence his motto, "Prove 'em." And it's more of the same ahead of the upcoming season.
Following the Raptors' second straight 50-win campaign, ESPN is projecting the NBA's lone Canadian club to sixth in the Eastern Conference with 43 wins in 2017-18.
DeRozan doesn't agree with that at all, suggesting in a comment that the sports-media giant needs to get outta here with the notion that the Raps have fallen off that much.
Toronto has made four consecutive playoff appearances, advancing as deep as the East finals in 2015-16. The team retained All-Star Kyle Lowry and trade-deadline acquisition Serge Ibaka this summer, but lost key rotation players P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson in free agency. Meanwhile, some conference rivals likely improved, such as the Boston Celtics who won the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes.
DeRozan wasn't the only player who took exception to the rankings. His USA Basketball teammate DeMarcus Cousins commented on the post with a sleeping emoji, presumably to say ESPN is sleeping on his New Orleans Pelicans, who are projected to barely miss the playoffs with 44.2 victories.
