The Raptors have this short inflatable Raptor that comes out at halftime and during T.V. timeouts that is perfect. He is better than racing babies, or the staged kiss cams, and just a little less great than the Suns' Lion King cam. He perfectly encapsulates what is fun about Toronto basketball. Since this team went to game 7 verse the grandpa Nets back in 2014, the NBA world has realized how amazing/cruel being a Raptors fan is. They, like the Cubs, are the lovable losers. Their fans come out in droves during the playoffs despite making it to the Eastern Conference Finals just once in team history.

The expectations for this team are never high because of that history. The soul snatching basketball god that has been emasculating the Eastern Conference for a decade doesn't help much either. Then, the 2017 season started and DeMar DeRozan has done this: 35.8ppg 5rpg 2.6apg on 55% shooting. This changes everything.

The Eastern Conference for years has been a joke. A punchline that always ended with LeBron's latest victim being Crying Jordaned. The Raptors were competitive in last years series until the Cavs decided to really play and run them off the floor. However, we may not be able to make this grand assumption that LeBron will cake walk into the Finals. LeBron and a handful of 80 year olds are the only people who have gone to 6 straight NBA Finals, 7 isn't easy. Also, quiet down James Jones fans.

Data via stats.nba.com toddwschneider.com/ballr

DeMar DeRozan is making the Raptors a real threat in this league and he is doing it in such an interesting way, he has all but abandoned the 3 point line. Nearly 90% of his field goal attempts come inside the 3 point arc.

He is attacking the rim and nailing mid range jumpers at such an incredible clip that Moreyball becomes inconsequential. At the rim he is hitting 75% of his attempts and from 16ft to the 3pt line he is shooting 59%. When he misses anywhere inside the arc I am genuinely surprised. Every jumper looks smooth, calm, and in control.

DeMar is very strong, so he has been using that strength to bully smaller defenders. Much like Kawhi Leonard, once he puts a defender on his back its over. He is too quick for most big men to bring the help and his shot is too money to defend once you are behind him.

The thing that is most confusing and extraordinary about his start is that he is still the player he always was. He has not had this unbelievable growth in a specific category, he just is making MORE of the shots he always takes. This chart, courtesy of Nick Sciria, looks at his increase in FG% compared to last year using how close a defender is.

He is still an awful spot up shooter, only hitting 25% of his spot up attempts, he is not a great facilitator and can not shoot threes. It's his ability to now take on any defender one on one and dominate that is different. This is what is necessary in the playoffs when plays bog down and you just need a bucket. DeRozan showing this ability is very significant. He is the first player to drop 30+ in the first 5 games since MJ. He is not Michael Jordan and this hot streak may cool off, but do not overlook it.

The Raptors are the 7th ranked offense AND defense according to defensive rating. DeRozan doesn't need to learn how to be a great spot up shooter because Kyle Lowry is already very capable at it, shooting 45% on spot ups last year. Jonas Valanciunas is starting strong this season, grabbing 11rpg and 12% of the offensive rebounds which is good for 3rd in the league for players who have at least played 30mpg. Terrence Ross is a circus shot hitting, streaky shooter much like JR Smith with less bravado and more clothes. DeMarre Carroll is still doing junkyard dog type things, Jakob Poeltl hustles hard (P.S this guy looks like about 95% of the MyCareer players I have ever made so that's cool), Cory Joseph is another player that can handle the ball in the second unit and the player that saved this team in the playoffs can't even get any minutes!

DeMar Derozan's early season dominance, even if it's just a hot streak, now shows what he is capable of. If he is able to keep at least a percentage of the increase that he has shown, the Raptors could be scary good. And the Raptors being good means seeing more mini inflatable raptor, which is very important.