Where has Kyle Lowry gone? #3 on the Toronto Raptors right now simply isn’t the player Bryan Colangelo brought in this offseason, and that’s due to Dwane Casey. First off, let me remind you of who the real Lowry is. Take a few minutes and watch these videos of Lowry during the first couple games of the year.
During that stretch, Lowry was putting up all-star caliber numbers, and the offense was free flowing as Casey was letting the team mesh. Essentially, because Casey didn’t know what to make of the team and gave Lowry full freedom, he played to his potential.
His injury against the OKC Thunder was a turning point for the worse for the Raps, as everything seemed to fall apart. Lowry was playing on another level, and kept the Raps competitive. Without him, it was the same 2011-12 Raps, and sure, they got hot at points, beating on bottom feeders, but it was clear the team wasn’t the same.
Upon Lowry’s return, Casey kept riding Jose Calderon, and evidently told Lowry to get his teammates more involved, or ‘play more like Jose’. Clearly, this isn’t Lowry’s game, as he’s not the same player we witnessed to start the season.
What’s puzzling is the fact that John Lucas III is given the green light to chuck as he pleases while Lowry’s field goal attempts are way down.
So, how do you fix this? At this point, Casey has got to give Lowry the freedom he had at the beginning of the year. Give him some minutes with the second unit where he can be more dominant offensively, let him look for his shot. I hoped that shifting back into the starter’s role would give Lowry more confidence, but he’s getting minutes, and is healthy so it’s clear that the issue is Casey.
Frankly, the Kyle Lowry the Raptors currently have isn’t getting the job done, and at this point I would like to ask the real Kyle Lowry to please stand up, and score the ball, because when the offense gets ugly, the Raps could really use it..
Credit to Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports for the photo.
3 thoughts on “Dwane Casey Has Ruined Kyle Lowry”
HE NEEDS TO TAKE ON THAT PLAYMAKING RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IN THEIR LINEUP CAN BE THAT TYPE OF POINTGUARD. SURE WHEN THE OFFENSE IS UGLY HE NEEDS TO RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT HE NEEDS TO SCORE… BUT 7-3 SINCE JOSE LEFT? WITH SOLID NUMBERS ACROSS THE BOARD? SURE HE CAN GO OFF FOR 20 EVERY NIGHT IF HE WANTED TO, BUT THAT DOESNT NECESSARILY TRANSLATE INTO WINS.. I THINK HES DONE A GOOD JOB, COULD BE BETTER. BUT IF THEY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS OR JUST MISS THEM YOU CANNOT UNDERVALUE HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TEAM AS A WHOLE. WHETHER THEY SHOW UP ON THE STAT SHEET OR NOT.. LAST TIME I CHECKED BEING A WARRIOR AND A COMPETITOR NIGHT IN AND NIGHT OUT DIDNT HAVE ITS OWN COLUMN, ALA AMIR JOHNSON!