Columnist image

TSN Raptors Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO – The Raptors’ two best players – Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry – played six games together in October, the opening month of the NBA season. They both scored 20 or more points in the same game three times.

They haven’t accomplished that feat again in any of the 21 games they’ve played together since.

On the surface, this is a surprising and perhaps even alarming stat. With some context it’s a bit more understandable.

Lowry has been battling a nagging back injury since the beginning of December and his production, particularly his shooting numbers, reflects that. Additionally, the two stars haven’t played more than five consecutive games together this season, their first as teammates. Building chemistry and learning how to co-exist on the floor continues to be a work in progress.

In terms of their individual performance, there’s very little concern about where Leonard is at right now. He’s scored 20 or more points in 22 straight games, one shy of matching the franchise record set by Vince Carter. He’s averaging 30.5 points over that stretch and is playing his best basketball of the season, and arguably of his career.

If you’re worried about one of them, it’s Lowry, who’s having a down season by his standards. The point guard is averaging 14.2 points per game, fewest since his first year with the Raptors, and is hitting just 32 per cent from beyond the arc, lowest since 2009-10 with Houston.

The injury is probably responsible for his shooting woes, at least to a degree, especially after getting off to a hot start (he averaged 18.5 points on 42 per cent from long distance in October). However, there seems to be more to it.

Lowry has looked like two different players this season. There’s the one who has carried the Raptors to several big wins with Leonard sitting out for rest – assertive and aggressive in running the offence and looking for his own opportunities to score. Then there’s the version that has deferred to Leonard when the superstar forward has been on the floor, often to the point of being too passive.

In 12 games without Leonard since October, Lowry is averaging 17.5 points and 9.5 assists, shooting 43 per cent on 13.3 field goal attempts and 35 per cent on 7.3 three-point attempts – right on par with his averages in seven seasons with Toronto. In 21 games with Leonard since October, those numbers drop to 10.7 points and 8.7 assists, shooting 34 per cent on 9.9 field goal attempts and 26 per cent on 6.5 three-point attempts.

This season has presented the veteran point guard with a new challenge. For the first time since he was traded to Toronto in 2012, he hasn’t had DeMar DeRozan next to him in the Raptors backcourt. He and DeRozan spent seven years learning how to bring out the best in each other’s games. He and Leonard have had fewer than 30 games to do the same.

While it’s been a down season for Lowry, it hasn’t been a bad one. The 13-year vet has never been better as a playmaker. Lowry is second in the league in assists, averaging 9.4. That’s not only a career-high, it’s two full assists more than he’s ever averaged. Fellow starters Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka are both having career years, Danny Green has also been great, and Lowry’s fingerprints are all over their success.

He’s been typically productive in other facets of the game as well. He’s tied for fifth in the league in drawing charges, even though he lost three weeks to injury. He gets you extra possessions with his hustle plays and crafty defence, and makes the most of them with his high basketball IQ on offence.

The advanced numbers still speak to his value. The Raptors outscore opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions when Lowry is on the floor – the second-best mark on the team, only trailing Green – and they’re outscored by 3.6 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the bench.

He’s been good, and at times he’s been really good but, but in order for the Raptors to reach their potential, and ultimately reach their goal of making it out of the East, they need more from him. They need him to be Lowry.

So much of what makes Lowry dangerous offensively is his nearly limitless range, that ability and willingness to pull-up from deep and hit threes. Even when those shots aren’t falling, teams have to respect him as a threat from that range. However, when he’s passing up those looks or taking shots out of rhythm, he becomes less of a priority for the defence. Not to be overlooked is his knack for getting to the rim and drawing fouls, which he hasn’t been doing nearly as often with Leonard on the court.

It’s not coming from a bad place. As a point guard, leading a deep and talented team – arguably the best he’s ever played on – while appeasing a high-usage superstar takes a certain amount of self-sacrifice. He’s making a conscious effort not to step on Leonard’s toes, which is commendable.

At the same time, more is expected of him, not just because of his salary – he’s making $31 million this season – but because he’s capable of it. The key for him, and also the challenge, is finding a balance between the two roles his team needs him to fill: the facilitator and the second scoring option.

“It’s been a different year for me,” Lowry admitted earlier this month. “I’ve said this – I’m on the floor with four guys who can score the ball, who want to score the ball, who need the ball. It’s just the evolution of me to be able to find ways to get everybody involved and try to find a way to keep myself involved. I’m focused on helping my team score. Serge [is] having a great year, Pascal [is] having a great year, Kawhi and Danny and those guys are playing well. For me, it’s finding it. I want to be aggressive, but at the same time I want to keep our team going and keep our team in rhythm. It’s a tough situation. But we’re winning. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.”

The Raptors go into Thursday’s showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks – a battle for first place – with 37 wins, most in the NBA. They’ve done it despite injuries to several rotation players, Leonard’s ongoing load management and without Lowry at his best. Some might see that as encouraging – how good can they be when they’re fully healthy and in sync? It’s a fun thought, but they’ve got to get there first.

Lowry’s admitted that the back issue is something that he and the team will have to monitor for the duration of the season, but he’s feeling better physically and is focused on finding his rhythm again. He’s confident it will come with more time on the court. Logging more time alongside Leonard can’t hurt either.

Although they still haven’t scored 20 points in the same game since the opening month of the season, they came close in Sunday’s win over Dallas. Leonard scored 33 while Lowry had 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, making a couple big threes in the fourth quarter in a game Toronto went on to win by three points. It was the best they’ve looked together in months.

“The main thing is the vision was there and the willingness to pass it was there,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “I credit that more to just some time together. It’s been a while since [they played together]. Kyle had a long stretch where he was out, Kawhi was out for a stretch, and there’s two games here that they played together [consecutively].”

The Raptors have played nearly half of their games without one of the two stars, including 14 in a row last month thanks to Lowry’s injury and Leonard’s rest nights. With the schedule easing up – they have just two back-to-backs left – getting their two most important players more experience sharing the court should be a priority over the final 30 games.

As for Lowry, despite a turbulent season, there’s a good chance he’s named to his fifth career All-Star Game when the reserves – selected by the league’s head coaches – are announced on Thursday.