OAKLAND—Under the championship banners in the crumbling old doomed arena, the Toronto Raptors got ready to play. Oracle Arena is located off a highway in one of California’s dry faded patches of nowhere, and it’s the centre of the NBA universe. And the Raptors are here.
And as they prepared for the latest biggest game in Toronto’s franchise history, some people were thinking of DeMar DeRozan. Because he wasn’t in the building, and they were.
“He’s probably the reason we’re here,” said Kyle Lowry.
Lowry is, of course, DeRozan’s best friend; the two have stayed in close contact since DeRozan was traded to San Antonio in July last year, for Kawhi Leonard.