The Toronto Raptors got swept in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, dropping Game 4 at home, 109-102, on Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan says Raptors would have won ‘if we had LeBron on our team, too’
DeRozan had a unique answer in the Game 4 press conference.
But DeMar DeRozan isn’t going to make excuses. His team couldn’t get a single win against the defending champions, and when asked if Toronto needed more time, the Raptors’ All-Star had a unique answer:
Reporter: “Maybe if you guys had a little bit more time, things would have been different this time around. Do you feel as though that might have been one of the issues?”
DeRozan: “If we had LeBron on our team, too, we woulda won. We could say that all day, time, everything, but we didn’t. It happened. We got swept. It’s gonna be one of them long summers for us.”
DeRozan was being sarcastic when he referenced LeBron James in a Raptors jersey. That much isn’t happening, but it probably would have helped.
James absolutely dominated the Raptors in the second round, averaging 36 points on 48 percent three-point shooting. He’s in the midst of one of the best postseason runs in modern NBA history.
So yes, having James on the Raptors would have likely led to an alternate story ending in Toronto. Maybe having more time to jell together as a unit would have helped the Raptors dodge their dismal fate.
Toronto acquired Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker at the trade deadline, shipping out key rotation players in Terrence Ross and Jared Sullinger in the process. They also lost Kyle Lowry for an extended period of time to a right wrist injury.
Time would have been nice. But they didn’t have it. Using it as an excuse is unacceptable, and DeRozan knew it.
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