Home / NBA / DE ROZAN WANTS MAGICAL PAYBACK

DE ROZAN WANTS MAGICAL PAYBACK

DeMar DeRozan wants to underline his NBA All Star credentials to European fans in London next week – and lead the Toronto Raptors on a revenge mission.

The USA international will face off with the Orlando Magic at The 02 in the league’s now-annual trans-Atlantic swing, four years after the Commonwealth’s leading side previously came to the UK for a double-header with the then-New Jersey Nets.

It comes amid another promising season for Toronto, who head the Atlantic Division with a 21-15 start and are still within reach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for top spot in the Eastern Conference.

And DeRozan, who made his maiden All Star appearance in 2014, insists he’s pushing for greater gains.

“Most definitely,” he told MVP. “You definitely have to step your game up even more from a leadership standpoint and pushing with the understanding to have success, individual-wise and team-wise. You gain that extra motivation to keep pushing.”

Orlando have made a surprise push towards a play-off berth under new coach Scott Skiles, sitting 19-16 despite a three-game losing stretch.

But with a 92-87 victory over the Raptors to their credit this term, DeRozan insists there will be an extra spice to the British trip.

“It definitely should be a fun exciting game,” he said. “They beat us earlier in the season. They broke our streak when we were 5-0. So we have to go out there and take a chance to redeem ourselves from that loss. But understanding they’re an exciting young team we’ll have to come prepared for.”

The Orlando Magic host the Toronto Raptors at The O2 in London on January 14. The game is live on NBA League Pass.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • MySpace
  • Print
Ad

You must be logged in to post a comment Login