Raptors head coach Dwane Casey planted All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan on the bench with his team down 16 points in Game 3, and Toronto staged a comeback before ultimately falling victim to LeBron James’ heroics at the buzzer.
DeRozan told reporters how difficult it was for him to watch his team go down 0-3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Casey said DeRozan—who is averaging a team-high 23.8 points in the playoffs—“wasn’t the reason we lost.”
Per ESPN:
“It’s extremely hard, extremely hard,” DeRozan said. “I just want to be out there helping my team, way more than anything. It definitely sucks to be watching … we’ve got to give credit to those guys. We fought hard and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
Casey did not discuss his decision to bench DeRozan after the game. The coach did hint that the decision wasn’t just about DeRozan’s poor shooting. He was a team-worst minus-23 on the night.
“Even when you are not shooting well you can defend and do things to help us win, but those nights are going to happen,” Casey said. “He had a tough night. He wasn’t the reason we lost. We are professionals, he’s a pro. He has had tough games before, he’ll bounce back. But we have one more game, our pride is on the line, basically our season is on the line, but I think he’ll bounce back.”
