After averaging 23.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for the top-seeded Toronto Raptors during the regular season, All-Star DeMar DeRozan still entered Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a lot to prove.In a 105-103 loss in Game 3, DeRozan scored just eight points on 3-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and two assists in just 28 minutes and even got benched for part of the game."DeMar DeRozan has missed a lot of easy opportunities against us," LeBron James told reporters before Game 4 on Monday, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com."We just try to make it a little bit more challenging, that's all," James said. "He got into the lane four or five times and missed some floaters, missed some layups, missed a couple wide-open 3s that he's been making. So it's easy to say the job we've done, but when you're playing against an All-Star starter and the caliber of player of DeMar, you just try to make it challenging on him and then hope that he misses shots.”Therefore, it’s clear that LeBron respected DeRozan at the time of the comments. But, that might have changed based on what happened in the closing seconds of the third quarter of Game 4. Chasing after Cleveland’s Jordan Clarkson while losing by 25 points, DeRozan fouled him on the head, which resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul and therefore an immediate ejection. Check out the play below:

DeRozan finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 33 minutes. However, he managed a plus-minus of negative-29, which was the lowest mark of his entire season. In fact, three of his worst plus-minus nights came during the dominant four-game series sweep against LeBron and the Cavs.

It’s safe to say that DeRozan and co-star Kyle Lowry failed to live up to their expectations in the series. In fact, they combined for just two more points than James, had one more assist, three less rebounds and made four less field goals while attempting five more shots than him in the series.

Under team control for at least two more seasons, no one has reported that the Raptors will ship off their All-Star shooting guard anytime soon. But, it’s clear that DeRozan has repeatedly failed to guide his team over the hump in the playoffs, which could clearly incentivize Toronto to at least explore the possibility of making a move.

Nonetheless, the play above was an ugly stain on what was mostly an exceptional individual season for DeRozan.

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