Everything Kyle Lowry

[slaw]

That's the hope. I have no issue with it if that's what it is. And we'll see if that is what it is.

That's not what it is....

[KeonClark]

That's not what it is....

So..it is what it is?


...And with that my new years resolution to not make useless posts was broken! Ah well always next year

[slaw]

So..it is what it is?


...And with that my new years resolution to not make useless posts was broken! Ah well always next year

LOL. Yes, it is what it is.

FVV's the back-up PG. He's out there to run the offense. When Lowry is hurt, FVV is the starting PG. He plays almost exactly like Lowry does except not as good. There's no grand scheme or intricate plotting involved. He's Lowry's back-up, in every meaning of the word. And he will be for the rest of the season and into the playoffs. When Lowry is back, he'll play off the ball but that's just cause they want him on the floor, not because they prefer him there.

[Puffer]

I wonder how Kyle's absence and the subsequent play of the Raptors has affected Paul Pierce? I don't regularly watch any of the sports/basketball/NBA shows so I have no idea what he's been saying over the last month or so as the Raptors play has declined. I know he was been downplaying the Raptors as finals contenders at the start of the season from comments and links on this forum. Has he been delivering any "Told you so's?" Just interested.

[The Great One]

People are finally starting to notice it eh? lol. What took so long?

From @HayesTSN on @OverDrive1050: Lowry needs to be way better when the brightest lights are on. WATCH: https://t.co/RtJFFpY5de pic.twitter.com/uWKw1OZGM6

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 1, 2019

[MixxAOR]

everything will change now? no? oh so we continue to shit on him? Back to scheduled programming then.

[Superjudge]

I always like to shit on Lowry, he's earned every nugget

[Mitch P]

Sometime last year (my RR rookie season) I started a thread...something like "Is this the end of Little Kyle".... a reference to the old Edward G Robinson movie Little Caesar which obviously went over the heads of all of the youngsters on this site. I was suggesting that Kyle's age related decline had started and was wondering how the Raptors should prepare for it. I was promptly roasted for thinking that Kyle was anything other than still at his peak....just having a bit of a mid season lull at the time.

Well a year later I think I stand completely vindicated. The Lowry of two or three years ago hasn't been seen for more than a game or two this year and more often just a quarter. He's lost all confidence in his shot, can't get to the rim consistently and with his vaunted basketball IQ hasn't figured out a way to play with Kawhi.

This is the way aging works in sports. At first it's subtle as the player still can produce at a high level.....just not as often and then the skills begin to show obvious decline. What' s interesting about Kyle's decline is how much his shooting has been affected. Watching the decrepit corpse of Dirk a few days ago (I was there in the building and he looked skeletal and ancient...for a man of 40!) saw a guy who could hardly move but could still drain open 3s. I watched Kyle shoot before the Houston game and he was bricking shot after shot.....with no one guarding him. He shot maybe 35% which was dismal compared to Powell or Green or even Siakam who shoot well over 50%.....closer to 75% unguarded.

Kyle's demeanour and body language are also telling. He looks frustrated and angry but sometimes also resigned and discouraged. I feel like he is still pissed off about the Demar trade. I don't know if he likes or dislikes Kawhi. I could see him being pissed off at the Kawhi rest days because Kyle has played hurt so often. I could see him being pissed off that Kawhi isn't on the bench when he is "resting" because Kyle is always on the bench acting like an assistant coach when he is out.

Kyle has probably been my favourite Raptor (other than JV for whom I have an inexplicable love) since he has been here. I loved his passion and how he could take over a game and do so much with an unlikely body and coming from a really shitty past. But one needs to be honest. He is very close to being done. For some athletes the decline comes quickly. He could still have a great run of games....and I pray it happens in playoffs this year. But the Raptors need a replacement fast. FVV has shown that he can't do it. Big heart and all but a point guard has to be a threat to get to the rim and SCORE...not just pass out to the corners. Delon might be better but doesn't have the swagger of a championship calibre PG. He could be a really good backup if he embraced the role and was given adequate minutes. I see this as a much higher priority than selling the farm for AD which isn't realistic anyway.

I would trade Kyle in the off season...not that you'll get much but it would clear the way for someone else and might change the locker room chemistry too.

[The Great One]

Lowry also looks FAT and completely out of shape this year.

[inthepaint]

Sometime last year (my RR rookie season) I started a thread...something like "Is this the end of Little Kyle".... a reference to the old Edward G Robinson movie Little Caesar which obviously went over the heads of all of the youngsters on this site. I was suggesting that Kyle's age related decline had started and was wondering how the Raptors should prepare for it. I was promptly roasted for thinking that Kyle was anything other than still at his peak....just having a bit of a mid season lull at the time.

Well a year later I think I stand completely vindicated. The Lowry of two or three years ago hasn't been seen for more than a game or two this year and more often just a quarter. He's lost all confidence in his shot, can't get to the rim consistently and with his vaunted basketball IQ hasn't figured out a way to play with Kawhi.

This is the way aging works in sports. At first it's subtle as the player still can produce at a high level.....just not as often and then the skills begin to show obvious decline. What' s interesting about Kyle's decline is how much his shooting has been affected. Watching the decrepit corpse of Dirk a few days ago (I was there in the building and he looked skeletal and ancient...for a man of 40!) saw a guy who could hardly move but could still drain open 3s. I watched Kyle shoot before the Houston game and he was bricking shot after shot.....with no one guarding him. He shot maybe 35% which was dismal compared to Powell or Green or even Siakam who shoot well over 50%.....closer to 75% unguarded.

Kyle's demeanour and body language are also telling. He looks frustrated and angry but sometimes also resigned and discouraged. I feel like he is still pissed off about the Demar trade. I don't know if he likes or dislikes Kawhi. I could see him being pissed off at the Kawhi rest days because Kyle has played hurt so often. I could see him being pissed off that Kawhi isn't on the bench when he is "resting" because Kyle is always on the bench acting like an assistant coach when he is out.

Kyle has probably been my favourite Raptor (other than JV for whom I have an inexplicable love) since he has been here. I loved his passion and how he could take over a game and do so much with an unlikely body and coming from a really shitty past. But one needs to be honest. He is very close to being done. For some athletes the decline comes quickly. He could still have a great run of games....and I pray it happens in playoffs this year. But the Raptors need a replacement fast. FVV has shown that he can't do it. Big heart and all but a point guard has to be a threat to get to the rim and SCORE...not just pass out to the corners. Delon might be better but doesn't have the swagger of a championship calibre PG. He could be a really good backup if he embraced the role and was given adequate minutes. I see this as a much higher priority than selling the farm for AD which isn't realistic anyway.

I would trade Kyle in the off season...not that you'll get much but it would clear the way for someone else and might change the locker room chemistry too.

Kyle has always been and continue to be a great teammate. He's got a snarly bulldog demeanour sometimes, on-court and off court, but he's also got a jokester, fun side, and upbeat attitude in practice that has been recounted by many teammates, most recently on Green's podcast, about how Kyle can lift the mood of a practice with guys laughing and having fun when they're on the bench.

He's also has had a reputation of having a caring "taking-under-his-wing" attitude with a lot of rookie/young players (Nogueira and Ross being former examples). He's never driven anyone out of the locker room, if anything the opposite. Several times treated the whole team to special dinners catered by chefs he knows in Philly. Rudy Gay is the godfather of one of his kids.

I'm not worried about who Kyle is in the locker room or as teammate. Kyle is Kyle, and he's a guy you want to go to battle with. He's a passionate caring person that wants to win, and he will tend to take the side of his teammates if there's a coach/player rift. He's an excellent teammate.

Now, yeah, he's hurt physically. And when you're 32, it takes longer to recover from physical injuries. That's out of his control. And because it's out his control, it frustrates him/affects his confidence, which compounds it. He didn't forget how to shoot. He shot lights out at the beginning, got a bad injury that's affecting his shooting mechanics, and never took the proper time to rehab it. That's it.

No one is hiding that under the rug. But what are you gonna do? Ship him out because he's banged up with city miles after he gave his heart & soul to this team taking charges, scraping on defence, trying to help teammates night in and night out even when he's hurt instead of asking for "load management"? I don't think so.

The best course of action here is to give him the proper time to recover off-court. In other words, actually "manage his load". The thing is this Lowry we're talking here, and he won't accept that, because he wants to be out there fighting. For his team and teammates. Sometimes that frustrates me as a fan, but part of me admires that.

[DanH]

Sometime last year (my RR rookie season) I started a thread...something like "Is this the end of Little Kyle".... a reference to the old Edward G Robinson movie Little Caesar which obviously went over the heads of all of the youngsters on this site. I was suggesting that Kyle's age related decline had started and was wondering how the Raptors should prepare for it. I was promptly roasted for thinking that Kyle was anything other than still at his peak....just having a bit of a mid season lull at the time.

Well a year later I think I stand completely vindicated. The Lowry of two or three years ago hasn't been seen for more than a game or two this year and more often just a quarter. He's lost all confidence in his shot, can't get to the rim consistently and with his vaunted basketball IQ hasn't figured out a way to play with Kawhi.

This is the way aging works in sports. At first it's subtle as the player still can produce at a high level.....just not as often and then the skills begin to show obvious decline. What' s interesting about Kyle's decline is how much his shooting has been affected. Watching the decrepit corpse of Dirk a few days ago (I was there in the building and he looked skeletal and ancient...for a man of 40!) saw a guy who could hardly move but could still drain open 3s. I watched Kyle shoot before the Houston game and he was bricking shot after shot.....with no one guarding him. He shot maybe 35% which was dismal compared to Powell or Green or even Siakam who shoot well over 50%.....closer to 75% unguarded.

Kyle's demeanour and body language are also telling. He looks frustrated and angry but sometimes also resigned and discouraged. I feel like he is still pissed off about the Demar trade. I don't know if he likes or dislikes Kawhi. I could see him being pissed off at the Kawhi rest days because Kyle has played hurt so often. I could see him being pissed off that Kawhi isn't on the bench when he is "resting" because Kyle is always on the bench acting like an assistant coach when he is out.

Kyle has probably been my favourite Raptor (other than JV for whom I have an inexplicable love) since he has been here. I loved his passion and how he could take over a game and do so much with an unlikely body and coming from a really shitty past. But one needs to be honest. He is very close to being done. For some athletes the decline comes quickly. He could still have a great run of games....and I pray it happens in playoffs this year. But the Raptors need a replacement fast. FVV has shown that he can't do it. Big heart and all but a point guard has to be a threat to get to the rim and SCORE...not just pass out to the corners. Delon might be better but doesn't have the swagger of a championship calibre PG. He could be a really good backup if he embraced the role and was given adequate minutes. I see this as a much higher priority than selling the farm for AD which isn't realistic anyway.

I would trade Kyle in the off season...not that you'll get much but it would clear the way for someone else and might change the locker room chemistry too.

Here's the thing though, you could have written this spiel in 2014-15 with almost identical evidence. I'll believe Lowry is done being Lowry when I see it.

Trading Lowry is something you do when you are done winning, and it's time to lose games.

[Rudy Bargnani]

Interesting lineup stat:

I’m looking at 2 man lineup stats for the Raptors involving Kyle Lowry. In terms of net rating, Kyle with Kawhi is the worst 2 man combo involving Kyle Lowry with another rotation player. ( Lowry with CJ miles is worse.) Kyle and Kawhi is only 10th best.

To be clear it’s still a positive net rating and there is noise in 2 man lineup stats. but Kyle with Kawhi doesn’t seem to be gelling or playing with the cohesion the team needs to be really successful. Kyle-Kawhi “should” have better results together.

[Puffer]

To be clear it’s still a positive net rating and there is noise in 2 man lineup stats. but Kyle with Kawhi doesn’t seem to be gelling or playing with the cohesion the team needs to be really successful. Kyle-Kawhi “should” have better results together.

If they get 30 games in a row to play together, we might see that number go up.

[Shaolin Fantastic]

Lol remember when we had that "debate" about who we'd rather have between Lowry and Irving? Hilarious.

[Spark]

I remember Lowry vs Calderon