TORONTO - DeMar DeRozan believes athletes sometimes compete at their best when the situation is most dire.
That's part of the reason why the Raptors all-star believes Toronto will bounce Monday after a thorough Game 1 thumping by the Indiana Pacers.
“You're fighting for your life,” DeRozan said Sunday. “If you were drowning in water, you're going to figure out something to hold onto, to float, right? You have that natural instinct when you're a competitor and that's the beauty of the game. When things get rough, you kind of find enjoyment in it, and trying to overcome it.
“That's the great thing about basketball.”
If that's in fact true, there will be plenty to enjoy on Monday, when the Raptors try to even up their opening-round series against Indiana. The Raptors came in as the undisputed favourites, after winning 56 games this season, and earning the No. 2 seed in the East. But DeRozan and fellow all-star Kyle Lowry, both leaders in Toronto's record-breaking season, all but disappeared.
Asked about his reference to drowning, DeRozan said they aren't at that point yet.
“We're in a puddle right now. A little puddle. We've got some new shoes on, they got a little wet, that's all,” he said, prompting laughter from reporters.
DeRozan and Lowry said they both watched the game in its entirety twice on video. The errors were glaring. The team's 20 turnovers and 38 per cent shooting were the two huge differences in the game.
Coach Dwane Casey said cleaning up the turnovers - that the Pacers parlayed into 25 points Saturday - will be at the top of the team's to-do list in Game 2.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Casey said. “We took our Smith & Wesson and pulled the trigger a few times. You can't do that in a playoff situation and expect to win.”
Lowry told reporters he holds himself to “a high standard,” and knows his playoff performance last season in a four-game sweep by Washington, and Saturday, have been well below his capabilities.
Asked if his confidence has taken a beating, Lowry replied “My confidence is unshaken. Do I look shaky?”
The point guard said this year's version of the Raptors isn't the same as the one that folded against the Wizards last year.
“We're mentally stronger,” he said. “(Saturday) night, we literally did not play well. It happens. We really shot 38 per cent. And we still had a chance to win.”
Pacers all-star Paul George, who has bounced back from a gruesome leg break in August of 2014, also created huge problems for Toronto, scoring 33 points and virtually shutting down DeRozan at the other end.
DeMarre Carroll, who was acquired in the off-season for his defensive intensity, but is still playing limited minutes after coming back from knee surgery, said he'd love the challenge of guarding George.
“I live for those types of moments,” Carroll said. “I want to get out there and make every shot hard for him, I want to be that gnat, you know that gnat on a hot summer day when you're eating barbeque? That's the gnat I want to be.”
Cory Joseph, also acquired last off-season, was the Raptors' best player Saturday afternoon, showing the playoff poise he'd learned in numerous playoff runs with the San Antonio Spurs.
“We can't put too much pressure on ourselves,” Joseph said. “We can't get too down on ourselves when we make a mistake, because that can carry on. You've just got to go out there and have fun. It's just basketball. We're not going to war. Although it feels like it in the city of course. We're not an army or anything. Just got to have fun and play. Play the game you love, and compete.”
As for the fans, some of whom booed the Raptors off the floor at Air Canada Centre in Game 1, Patrick Patterson had a message: “Just stick with us. We're not giving up. There's no reason to give up just because we lost the first game. Just to the fans, hang in there, stick with us, and continue to support us like they have been all season.”
Following Monday, the series moves to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday.
