Raptors all-star guard DeMar DeRozan puts team meeting in perspective

TORONTO — After a disastrous Game 3 playoff loss in Milwaukee, the Toronto Raptors cleared the air in what forward DeMarre Carroll called a “heated film session between coaches and players.”

Reporters have tried to dig up more on what happened behind closed doors with limited success. When all-star guard DeMar DeRozan was asked about it Tuesday, he too declined to go into specifics.

But he did try to put it into perspective.

“Not to be all personal but do you have a significant other?” he asked the reporter who asked the question.

The male TV reporter in question was single, temporarily derailing DeRozan.

Question of the Week

Do you believe the Blazers are primed to go on a long playoff run?

Mar 23, 2026

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: March 23, 2026

Mar 23, 2026

1000 Ways To Heal

1000 WAYS TO HEAL: The Front Lawn - A story we inherited

Mar 23, 2026

But a married newspaper columnist offered himself up, allowing the Raptors all-star to continue his metaphor.

“You all argue, right?” said DeRozan. “The next day it’s ‘Babe, let me take you out to a nice dinner.’ You have a great evening, a great day. The time after that, it’ll be smooth until the next roller-coaster. It happens.

“We’re together more than (with) our families. So sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s part of the game. It’s something we build from and we respond from it. So it’s never nothing too serious that you guys in the media may make of it. It’s just sometimes it’s needed within us.” 

Coach Dwane Casey also played down the video session after the 104-77 loss last Thursday.

“I wouldn’t make a lot out of that,” he said. “We’ve had heated film sessions the entire season after a tough loss. It should be. Every team I’ve been with has been that way. It’s no different. Nothing was any different.”

But Carroll said this film session served its purpose, with a lot of discussion on playing defence.

“A heated film session can go either way. It can either be really good or it can be really bad. For us, it’s been really good. I think guys are understanding we’ve got to help each other on the defensive end. And if we can do it on the defensive end, it leads to easy offence.

“That’s how we’ve got to play, especially playing against this Milwaukee team.”

The Raptors have won two games in a row since the meeting and can close out the series on Thursday at Game 6 in Milwaukee.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press