Columnist image

TSN Raptors Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO - Kyle Lowry is not immortal, although it probably seems that way sometimes.

Last month's game in Utah, the first of Toronto's gruelling West Coast road trip, immediately comes to mind. Lowry took a hit to the mouth, courtesy of Gordon Hayward, which would require two stitches - his second dental mishap in less than three weeks. After spending most of the third quarter in the locker room, he went off in the fourth, hitting nine of 10 shots and scoring 19 of his 36 points to power the Raptors' comeback victory, one of their most impressive of the season.

If that sounds familiar, it's because we just saw the sequel. On Thursday night, also against the Jazz - who will be having Lowry-related nightmares for a long time - the All-Star point guard turned his ankle in the opening quarter, forcing Dwane Casey to burn an early timeout. He hobbled to the bench but would stay in the game. Lowry went to the locker room with about two minutes remaining in the first half, as he's been known to do in the past, having scored just five points. He finished with 33, including 16 over the final 12 minutes, as he carried his team to another improbable win.

How's his ankle feeling the next day?

"I'm Wolverine, man," said Lowry in an early favourite for quote of the (new) year. "You know Wolverine? I'm Wolverine, except for when I die, I'mma just die."

Lately, Lowry's superpower seems to be invisibility, at least league wide, as he continues to fly under the radar relative to other top players at his position.

On Thursday the NBA released the first returns of All-Star fan voting, with Lowry ranked sixth among guards in the East, trailing Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade, teammate DeMar DeRozan, Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Rose. Fortunately, for the first time ever, fans are responsible for just 50 per cent of the final vote, while players and a select media panel will account for 25 per cent each.

Earning a pair of honourable mentions, Lowry recently lost out to the Wizards' John Wall for both Eastern Conference Player of the Week and Player of the Month honours. Here's how the two point guards fared in December:

Wall: 24.5 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 49% FG, 30% 3P on 3.7 attempts, +46
Lowry: 24.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 54% FG, 50% 3P on 8.4 attempts, +178

Although their counting numbers were very similar and their teams had virtually the same record (Washington: 10-5, Toronto: 10-4), notice Lowry's efficiency (shot 50 per cent from three and led the NBA in makes with 59) and impact (the Raptors were plus-178 with him on the floor, minus-23 with him off it).

Does Lowry get the credit he deserves? No, probably not. The easiest explanation is that he plays north of the border and, while that probably factors into it some, there's more to it. Lowry doesn't look the part of a superstar. He's not as quick as Wall or as athletic as Russell Westbrook. He's not as flashy as Steph Curry, as naturally gifted as Irving or James Harden and doesn't have the resume of Wade or Rose. What Lowry does well is a lot tougher to categorize and sometimes seems impossible to explain or even put into words. His trademark quality: a compulsive, unrelenting desire to be great.

"It's all about winning," said the self made two-time All-Star. "That's all I care about. I hate losing more than I like winning, that's really how I feel about everything. I think just winning games, it makes the next day a lot better when you win games. So, I like having good days all the time."

That's often the difference in crunch time, when Lowry shifts his game into another gear. Over the years, as he's grown from crusty backup point guard into the polished floor general he is today, he's mastered the art of recognizing what is needed from him and when. You get the sense from watching him play, particularly in some of those fourth quarters, that he can take over whenever he wants, but he understands the importance of deferring and making his teammates better - something he tries to do early in games.

"He's not the same player he was back then," said DeMarre Carroll, who had played with Lowry briefly in Houston six years ago. "When he got in the game back then he just thought about getting numbers, not really getting his teammates involved. Now he's matured. He knows what it takes to win. He tries to get other guys involved because he knows he can't win it by himself. He tries to get other guys involved early and he takes it on his shoulders at the end."

In those most crucial moments, with time winding down and the game on the line, Lowry is a terror. Currently, he ranks third in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring, averaging 8.1 points, behind only Westbrook and Thomas. Not unrelated: the Raptors are the league's best fourth-quarter team, outscoring opponents by 157 points on the season. Outside of the Celtics, who are second at plus-114 in the fourth, no one else is better than a plus-64.

"I think that's his mentality," Casey said. "That's who he is. He's one of those guys who's a street fighter. He's not happy unless he's unhappy. That's who he is, that's what makes him who he is. When the game is on the line he's going to will his way to get a [loose] ball, get to the basket, make a shot, and that's what has helped us win a lot of games this year."

To Casey's point, Lowry is fifth in the NBA in win shares (an estimate of the number of wins a player produces for his team) at 6.3, trailing Harden, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Of the 14 different five-man units that have logged at least 20 minutes together for the Raptors this season, eight of them have a positive net rating (score more points than they allow per 100 possessions) and Lowry is the only player featured in all eight.

He's always moving, he's always thinking, he's always working to leverage both his body and mind as a means of gaining an advantage over his enemies. Just in case the whole superhero thing doesn't work out for him, rest assured, Lowry is every bit a superstar.