Raptors could continue to rest ailing Lowry

Josh Lewenberg

TSN Raptors Reporter

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PHILADELPHIA - It seemed like a prudent decision to rest Kyle Lowry, the Raptors' most important player, during a recent stretch against the NBA's two worst teams, but his time off could extend beyond that.

Nursing an assortment of nagging ailments, the all-star point guard looked on from the bench as his team split a pair of road contests with the lowly Knicks and 76ers.

With a crucial match-up against the red-hot Cavaliers on deck and a challenging three-game trip in Charlotte, Oklahoma City and San Antonio to follow, Lowry's status remains uncertain. The team does not seem the least bit interested in rushing him back, and for good reason.

"His body and his mind, his nicks and bumps will let him know when to come back," Dwane Casey said ahead of Monday's 114-103 victory in Philadelphia, snapping a season-worst five-game losing skid. "We'll see, it'll be a game-to-game, day-to-day thing and his body will let him know when to [come back]. I think this is going to be great for him, not just physically but mentally also."

Whether or not they currently have a return date in mind, it may ultimately fall out of the player's control. After all, and not surprisingly, if it were up to Lowry, he'd still be playing through the pain.

"Pretty much," he said, asked if he'd be in uniform Monday had the team not shut him down. "At the end of the day, that's what coaches and the organization are for, they are looking out for the best for the team. For me, I really respect the way they came at me. I want to be the best player I can be."

"I'm taking my time and [the] coaches wanted me to get some rest and some time off and I think in the long run, this will help me and help the team out."

Lowry's wounds seem to go beyond general mid-season bumps and bruises. They're more significant than most realize. Among them are a series of injuries to his right (shooting) hand. The guard dislocated his right ring finger in a January loss to Memphis, also suffering an abrasion to the same hand when diving for the ball against Washington a few weeks later. Casey believes that could be partially responsible for his shooting woes - Lowry shot 34 per cent from the field last month, 24 per cent from three-point range.

True to character, Lowry has kept his injury report in house, often declining to share that information with the media. Even some of his own teammates are unaware of what's been ailing him specifically.

"He won't let anybody in on it," said Patrick Patterson. "I'm surprised he lets the trainers in on it. Kyle is such a hard worker. He's such a bulldog. He doesn't show any weakness. He doesn't show any pain. He may be hurt, he may have bumps, cuts, bruises on his body and I'm sure he does right now, which is why he's taking some time off because he's in pain, but whoever we play, whoever the opponent is, whatever the circumstances are, Kyle doesn't let anybody know, whether it's his teammates or the opposition. Kyle, he just keeps it all to himself and just focuses on the game."

"I think it's well-deserved and well-needed," James Johnson said of Lowry's break. "The man plays through a lot more injuries than the fans know and what the media knows. He always continues to work hard and he's always continuing to get better, making his team better. He's been playing and battling through a lot of injuries that nobody knows about except for the locker room, so I'm just happy to see him take a rest."

It's another part of Lowry's maturation process. A couple years ago, asking him - or worse yet, telling him - to sit out against his will would not have gone over especially well. Now, in his ninth NBA season, Lowry seems to understand the value of taking a step back in order to take a couple steps forward come playoff time.

"I would say a couple years ago it would have been hard to convince him to do that, to pull the plug right now for the future," Casey said. "He's such a competitor that it would have been hard to do that a couple years ago, I would say. But now he's older, wiser, he understands and I think it's more understandable around the league that a lot of people are taking nights off. I think it's the right thing, especially with the way the schedule is right now."

"Of course [it's tough to sit out]," Lowry admitted. "But at the same time, you are getting older in your career and you've got bigger plans than to try to go out there and force something, especially when you have bumps and bruises, where you can take some time to get healthy. The long term is the plan, the long term for our season is really the goal in mind."

The Raptors were able to get by without their starting point guard in Philadelphia, facing the league's second-worst team. DeMar DeRozan took advantage of a favourable match-up to break out of his slump, scoring a season-best 35 points on 12-of-24 shooting and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line, adding nine rebounds and five assists. Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams filled in admirably at the point guard position, combining for just one turnover on the night.

But as Cleveland comes to town Wednesday, the degree of difficulty increases significantly. The Cavs have won 18 of their last 22 games and sit 1.5 games behind the second-seeded Raptors (with Chicago in between).

Still, Casey and the trainers will not base Lowry's return around the level of competition, not with a bigger goal in mind. Despite the team's recent rough patch and the overall importance of seeding in the wide open Eastern Conference, all that will be for naught if they don't have Lowry as close to 100 per cent as possible come the spring.