Raptors' DeRozan-Lowry Tandem Has Transformed into East's Best Backcourt

When DeMar DeRozan makes his first All-Star Game start in New Orleans this February, his nomination will help solidify his standing as one of the game's best players.

Averaging a career-high 28.2 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA, DeRozan has taken his game to new heights after signing a mammoth max contract that could keep him in Toronto through 2021.

Under a week from now we should learn that DeRozan will be joined by teammate Kyle Lowry at the All-Star Game for the second season in a row. Together, the two of them have surprisingly morphed into the best backcourt in the Eastern Conference.

DeRozan has notably made astronomical improvements since the 2012-13 season, when Lowry first joined the Raptors. No one could have predicted back then, when Lowry was fighting with Jose Calderon for the starting job and DeRozan's inefficient game was full of holes, that the duo would not only become the All-Star talents they are today, but that they'd be the gold standard for East backcourt tandems.

The 27-year-old DeRozan, fresh off a summer of winning Olympic gold with Lowry on Team USA, has career highs in player efficiency rating (25.3) and true shooting percentage (55.6) halfway through the season. Ridiculed for his outdated mid-range game, DeRozan has proved that his old-school of ball is still effective in today's NBA.

His usage rate (34.6) has never been higher, but his efficiency from the field (shooting 47.5 percent) has never been greater since his rookie season. DeRozan's numbers are a sharp increase compared to his first All-Star appearance in 2014, where he averaged 22.7 points per game on 42 percent shooting with an 18.4 PER.

DeRozan, who has arguably outplayed his backcourt mate this season, has deservedly captured the starting spot that Lowry has held in the last two All-Star Games.

Lowry's steady rise can be seen in the efficient nature of his scoring—he's gone from shooting 40.1 percent in 2013 to 47.8 percent this season, the second-best mark among starting point guards in the league. And he's morphed into an elite 3-point shooter, hitting 44.2 percent of his shots from long range, good for fourth in the league. The improved stroke has helped him put up a robust true shooting percentage of 64.2 percent, easily a career high and the sixth-best mark in the NBA.

Lowry had a case to join DeRozan in the starting lineup, but the point guard position is stacked, with the Celtics' Isaiah Thomas enjoying a career season (27.0 PER), while the Wizards' John Wall has an identical 24.0 PER as Lowry's. East starter Kyrie Irving sits at 21.3 for the East's No. 1 Cavaliers.

Wall, who's also enjoying a career year, had a really strong case to start, too, and his Wizards are probably the only team that could make a run at Toronto for the best backcourt in the East. Wall is averaging a conference-leading 10.3 assists per game, well above Lowry's mark of 7.1, while Bradley Beal—who for the first time in his career has managed to stay healthy—is having a breakout season, averaging 21.3 points per contest. While the Wizards' backcourt is the most credible threat in the East to Lowry and DeRozan, unlike Toronto, both Wall and Beal's improved statistics haven't translated into more wins, as the Wizards currently sit three spots behind the Raptors.

We've steadily seen Toronto improve over the years, thanks largely to the advancements in Lowry and DeRozan's games. Following the All-Star Game, Lowry and DeRozan can look toward the bigger picture of taking down the powerhouse Cavs, whom the Raptors surprisingly managed to take to six games in last season's Eastern Conference final.

Other than that, there's not much left for these two to prove.