Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com

There is comfort in familiarity, an ease that comes from learning someone’s personality and preferences over an extended period of time. After a year of relative stability, the Toronto Raptors are currently experiencing an unexpected shakeup as they adjust to life without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan.

“He’s not practicing, but he’s rehabbing,” head coach Dwane Casey said of DeRozan’s status as he rehabs from a groin injury. “He’s coming along, [but is] still a ways away. He’s working at it. Those type of injuries just take time.”

The team has posted a 3-4 record over their first seven games without their 2014 All-Star shooting guard. As that record suggests, there have been ups and downs. While Kyle Lowry has done his best to continue a spectacular start to the season — he was recently awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week and was nominated for Player of the Month honors in November — he is bearing a lot of responsibility. In addition to handling the ball and creating for teammates, Lowry has had to look to score more often himself.

DeRozan is missed most when the team finds itself in trouble. When the offence was stalling or shots weren't falling, the Raptors could go to him for a quick basket or a trip to the free-throw line. Those abilities aren't easy to replace or duplicate.

There's also the matter of filling his time on the court. Through 16 games, DeRozan averaged nearly 34 minutes a contest. Casey has had to shuffle his rotation and flip between Greivis Vasquez, James Johnson, Lou Williams and Landry Fields to try to make up for DeRozan’s absence. Those lineup tweaks have forced the other four starters to get used to playing with various replacements. After playing so many minutes together, it had become second nature for the starters to cover for each other's shortcomings and minimize their collective mistakes on both ends of the floor. That chemistry now has to be remade. Thankfully, Toronto’s bench has been superb this season, which does help that transition. Still, switching up a starter who played such a big role requires an adjustment period.

In Tuesday’s road loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Raptors didn’t register a free throw in the final quarter. Prior to his injury, DeRozan was averaging 7.8 trips to the line and he regularly went into attack mode down the stretch. His absence was felt on both ends: In an earlier road win against the Cavaliers, DeRozan had played his best defence of the season against LeBron James.

Casey is preaching rebounding and defensive focus as the Raptors try to find their way in the short-term. While a high-powered offence carried them to a 13-2 start, that success allowed them to gloss over defensive issues. DeRozan just might be able to help there, too, even if he's not on the court. In between rehab work with Raptors director of sports science Alex McKechnie, DeRozan has been glued to the couch watching basketball. With an open invitation to coaches' meetings and an interest in learning how the staff prepares for games, his time off could result in an increased awareness of what is needed from him when he returns.

Without DeRozan, the team will continue to march on. Despite the recent hiccups, Toronto still holds the East's best record at 16-6. Necessary adjustments should come over time, and the roster's depth will continue to strengthen as DeRozan works his way back to health.