Kyle Lowry is Not a "Shoot-first" "Scoring" Point Guard

[psrs1]

Hope he regains his three point touch tonight vs Wizards. He does contribute in many ways as noted but we will need his 3s.

[slaw]

Not that I'd label him a "shoot first" PG but this thread is kinda funny given the the biggest difference in his game over last year is that he is shooting more and scoring more than he ever has in his career. Meanwhile, his AST% is effectively the same as last year (35%) and his assists are up only immaterially (which is explained by his increased minutes).

Again, I love Lowry, but I think misconceptions about his prior play are driving a lot of the conversation. This is clearly Lowry's best season but he had good years in Houston in 2011 through 2012 and his numbers last year were good except he couldn't throw it in the ocean....

[KeonClark]

I guess … but Allen Iverson wasn't notoriously fat either. Maybe it's his history that I'm worried about. No denying Lowry's talent

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He's not fat, its just a funny body shape and he's got a derriere and a half. Its funny watching him waddle around, he looks like one of the kardashian sisters. Hasn't effected his speed so who cares.

[consmap]

He's not fat, its just a funny body shape and he's got a derriere and a half. Its funny watching him waddle around, he looks like one of the kardashian sisters. Hasn't effected his speed so who cares.

Lol I want to see Kyle's head photoshopped on a penguin now


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[Abused Raptors Fan]

Slaw is correct in his assertion that Lowry's most noticable improvement this year has been his increased point production, which has been a large part of the Raptors success. I think its fairly obvious to even casual observers that we are a perimeter oriented team. And, as Lowry goes, the team goes.

But, this becomes a problem when Lowry begins to struggle with his shot, as his recent struggles illustrate. Over his past 12 games, he's only shooting 38.4% overall on 14.3 FGAs, and 28.2% on 5.9 3PAs agame. Fortunately, his other stats have remained stable at his post-trade production levels, but if you look at his Off rating and Def rating, they're down to 112 & 107 respectively, vs 125 & 104, the ratings he was putting up after the trade but before this recent slump. We've still gone 8-4 over that stretch of games, but we only faced 3 teams above .500 during that time. I'd actually been wondering what was up as they just haven't been playing at the level we've become accustomed to seeing. I didn't know what to think, and started to wonder if the team was just finally coming back to earth as they seemed
to be struggling a lot more than they should. A

Anyway, hopefully this is just a minor slump, and not something more significant. What concerns me is that Lowry's struggles appear to coincide with the recent reports about him staying with the Raptors the rest of the season and possibly beyond. And when we consider that Lowry is in a contract year and has increased his level of play in the past following trade rumors, I get concernrd that he isn't as motivated now as he was earlier on.

[KeonClark]

And when we consider that Lowry is in a contract year and has increased his level of play in the past following trade rumors, I get concernrd that he isn't as motivated now as he was earlier on.

Kyle Lowry has been called, by people much more in the know than us, one of the most competitive people in the nba. 25 games left in the best season of his career, both personally and as a team, and you think he just stopped caring or trying at some point in the last week or 2?

[Abused Raptors Fan]

I never mentioned anything about his competitive spirit or how much he cares about this team and winning. Although this wouldnt be the first time Lowry's production dropped off after a long stretch of excellence.

However, one's competitive drive and their actual performance are 2 very different things. And, in terms of motivation, an athlete's enhanced performance during a contract year is often driven by extrinsic motivational factors such as recognition, fame and fortune. Through his performance thus far, Lowry has almost guaranteed or achieved all 3. The downside of such a short-term improvement is that it often reduces one's intrinsic motivation, such as their enjoyment/engagement in said behavior. This is the same reason many athletes experience a decline in performance following their contract year, they push themselves so hard that it becomes more of a job than a passion. For Lowry, the trade rumors certainly seemed to ramp up his production on both sides of the court, on top of the contract year effect.

This is what CONCERNS me. I never said I was convinced that this was the case, only that it had crossed my mind given the timing and circumstances. Hopefully, its just a slump. However, staying motivated and engaged at that level over an entire season is VERY difficult. MJ used to tell himself that people doubted his abilities or had insulted him or his family in order to bring it every game. So, while I m not sure one way or the other at this point, I wouldnt fault Lowry for losing his drive for a stretch of games against lesser competition, so long as it comes back.

[Abused Raptors Fan]

P.s. if you'd like to see some evidence in support of this phenomena, follow this link:

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-rele...earchers-show/

[Nilanka]

All we have to do is keep whispering into Lowry's ear that he's about to get traded.

"But Nilanka, the trade deadline's already passed."

"Just do what I say!"

[Bendit]

P.s. if you'd like to see some evidence in support of this phenomena, follow this link:

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-rele...earchers-show/

Interesting research. However one of our very own, DeRozan is proving otherwise isn't he? Personally I would put more creedence in the ability to maintain a high level performance through a grueling season. As you noted while Lowry's shooting may have fallen off his capacity to play great defense when needed (eg charge against Kyrie last game) and other intangibles like vocal/leadership items seem intact. More of an x factor is that he has never played so well before (6-7 yr career).

[slaw]

P.s. if you'd like to see some evidence in support of this phenomena, follow this link:

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-rele...earchers-show/

It's not just in sports. In my past life, when associates were up for partnership their numbers would almost, without fail, materially improve (mine did). It's why virtually all partnership models work on 2 or 3 year rolling averages as opposed to one year results. Also, we'd almost always see a drop in first year partnership performance cause all first year partners made the same regardless of financials, even though it hurt people over time.

Just human nature...

[Abused Raptors Fan]

Obviously other factors play into this, and not all athletes experience the post-contract lull. In Derozan's case, he actually had more motivation after his contract was signed as he set out to disprove those who thought he was seriously overpaid. That, and Derozan's natural progression asa player combined with an eexcellent work ethic meant he was less likely to regress than some other players. But again, I never said that IS why Lowry was struggling, only that it was something for us to consider as fans.