Tag: kyle lowry

Toronto Raptors start new NBA season 0-3

The Toronto Raptors are off to an 0-3 start. Which isn’t a huge deal, because three games don’t tell a full tale of what’s to come in an entire season. But there are some issues to watch. Here’s the Toronto Sun on star forward Pascal Siakam:

Siakam has had a weird start. He’s looked far more energetic and locked-in and appears to be having more fun than he did in the bubble, but he’s also been a bit error-prone, has been mad at the officiating and has completely faded the later into games he gets. Is it fatigue? Frustration? This wasn’t the Siakam we saw to start the 2019-20 campaign. That Siakam was a Top 10 MVP candidate after the first month or so…

Siakam is -39 in the second half of the first three games, +6 in the first two quarters, has not gotten to the free throw line once in the first or fourth quarter of any game and committed five fouls in the final seven minutes of Tuesday’s loss.

He also hasn’t been the all-world defender he has been the past few seasons (torched by Brandon Ingram, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons).

Through three games, Kyle Lowry is averaging 19.3 points and 9.7 assists. Siakam is second in scoring at 18.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 4.7 APG, but he’s shooting just 39.3% FG. Guard Fred VanVleet’s shot has also been missing: he’s putting up 14.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 6.0 APG but on just 36.4% FG.

Again, it’s too early to care much about exact numbers. But for now, the Raptors aren’t hot out of the gates.

Toronto’s next game is tomorrow on the road against the Knicks.

Raptors begin season with three-point misses in loss to Pelicans

The NBA season began Tuesday, and on a busy league-wide Wednesday schedule the Raptors began their season with a 113-99 loss to the Pelicans. In the win, Brandon Ingram shined, putting up 24 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists and three steals, JJ Redick scored 23 off the bench while new addition Eric Bledsoe had 18 points and six assists. In the loss for the Raptors, Pascal Siakam had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Kyle Lowry had 18 points and 10 assists. Via the Toronto Star:

Even in the three pretend games that preceded Wednesday night’s season-opening loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Raptors were settling for too many three-pointers and not getting to the basket — and the foul line — on a nearly equitable basis.

They hoisted 46 threes on Wednesday, making just 14; they took only 43 traditional two-point field-goal attempts, converting 24.

“We are just trying to go out there and play within the offence,” Raptors centre Aron Baynes said after the 113-99 defeat. “We are not looking just for threes, but we have set shots we are trying to get, and if the guys are open we have full confidence they are going to knock it down.”

That makes entire sense because the Raptors have shooters capable of much higher than a 30.4 per cent clip. Fred VanVleet going 2-for-8 from three, Norm Powell 1-for-6, OG Anunoby missing all five shots he took from behind the arc — that’s atypical shooting from that trio.

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Raptors face big free agency decisions this offseason

Although they fell short of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors are clearly one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Whether that will remain true next season largely depends on what happens in free agency this offseason. Here’s the Toronto Star on the squad and what team president Masai Ujiri has to say:

There are three key free agents — Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka — and dealing with them will be the first task. A long-term contract for VanVleet and one-year deals with either of the other two should preserve salary-cap room for 2021 and address critical present needs, but the only hint Ujiri would give is that he considers everyone a priority.

“It’s all communication and how we relate to our players,” Ujiri said. “We are very confident with our culture and, yes, Fred is a priority, our bigs are a priority — Serge had an incredible run, Marc Gasol brings so much to our organization — and we have our young players coming up with Chris Boucher. Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), too, is a free agent and he found a niche with our organization.

“That’s what our jobs are. We have to face them square on, and we will deal with them as we come, as we have in the past.

“We have to really attack this head on, and we know where their game is. We know how much they can improve. We try to project that as much as we can. We know where they have come from too, because we have gone through all these struggles with all these guys and we mutually appreciate that.” …

The NBA has set up a virtual scouting combine that includes some in-person workouts with trainers through October, but how much value that would have in debatable. And whether the Raptors would even keep their pick — No. 29 — is also uncertain. Using it in a trade package might make sense but, again, the unknown financial situation makes that difficult.

Forward Pascal Siakam isn’t going anywhere, and neither is guard Kyle Lowry. But Lowry, while still in possession of serious game, is 34 years old, so by 2021, VanVleet, should he stick around, will possibly have even more responsibility than before. Making this offseason all the more critical.

Some key Raptors players are free agents this summer, including Fred VanVleet

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was considered a respectable backup guard last regular season. And then emerged in the playoffs, rose his profile, and never looked back. He’s a very key member of the team, and with the future in mind is even more important considering that fellow starting guard Kyle Lowry, as good as he still plays, will turn 35 years old in March of 2021 and may start to slow down.

But VanVleet is a free agent this offseason. Here’s the Toronto Star examining how the Raps can potentially navigate the situation:

Keeping the 26-year-old guard, an integral part of a championship team and seemingly a foundational piece of the roster right now, has to be job No. 1 for Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster when it comes to retooling a roster that had a wonderful regular season and then fell in a seven-game, second-round Bubble Series against the Boston Celtics.

No one is running from or hiding the fact that the team will have no centres under contract when the off-season hits, because that is an issue, but the first domino needs to be VanVleet.

It’ll be costly, but it can be done. The Raptors could work some financial magic and pay VanVleet somewhere around $20 million (U.S.) a year — he made about $9.3 million this season — and still retain a maximum salary slot for 2021, when the free-agent market will be rife with high-profile stars.

The Raptors had an excellent shot at the Eastern Conference Finals this season, falling just one win short in the second round against the Celtics.

And they also soon might have a hole at the center spot, with both Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka hitting free agency.

It would be smart to keep Ibaka. But the most important player for the Raps in the group is VanVleet.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens praises great pass made by Raptors guard Kyle Lowry

Yesterday’s Raptors vs. Celtics game came down to the final seconds as Kemba Walker made a perfect pass, and then even more final seconds as Kyle Lowry did the same, leading to an OG Anunoby game-winning jumpshot at the buzzer. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

Jaylen Brown, always earnest and rational, was angered enough to drop an F-bomb or three in his post-game presser. Marcus Smart spent a few extra moments on the bench after OG Anunoby’s walk-off corner 3-pointer, running it all back, contemplating the team-wide breakdown that led to an open shot off an inbounds play with half a second on the clock.

By Friday, with the Celtics’ second round lead over Toronto cut to 2-1, those emotions had returned to a calmer boil. Brad Stevens certainly doesn’t want his players re-living a play he admits was equal parts defensive miscommunication and terrific execution by the Raptors.

For starters, Kyle Lowry had to loop his cross-court inbounds pass over an extended Tacko Fall to find Anunoby, who, yes, had gone invisible in the Celtics’ zone coverage scheme, leaving Brown too far down the baseline to contest the shot.

“We could’ve guarded it better, but that should be on the whole team and where the whole team has something happen, then that’s on me. So, I’ve moved on from it,” the Celtics coach said after Friday’s practice. “We talked about it this morning. We also have to realize that Lowry made a perfect pass over a 7-foot-6 guy all the way across the court, and a guy caught it in .4 seconds and shot it in.

Raptors news: guard Kyle Lowry diagnosed with ankle sprain

As the Toronto Raptors prepare to meet their second-round playoff opponent, the Boston Celtics, their star point guard will be on the mend.

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, the team announced today.

Lowry underwent an MRI on the NBA Campus in Orlando after the injury, which occurred in the first quarter of Sunday evening’s game. His condition will be updated as appropriate.

Lowry averaged 19.4 points, a team-high 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 36.2 minutes in 58 games with the Raptors this season. In six games during the NBA restart at Disney, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.7 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 32.9 minutes.

In the first round of the NBA Playoffs vs. Brooklyn, Lowry posted averages of 12.5 points, 4.8 assists and 7.0 rebounds in 29.9 minutes. He scored in double figures three times, including 21 points in Game 2, and had one double-double against the Nets. The Raptors swept the series, winning 4-0.

Kyle Lowry was one of key players involved with NBA restart plan

It took a great number of people to put the NBA restart together. Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting on Raptors guard Kyle Lowry:

Kyle Lowry, in fact, wound up having a rather large say in how this NBA re-start would go.

Initially, he was a member of the competition committee, but that role morphed into a working group consisting of Player’s Association president Chris Paul along with Lowry, Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum and Toronto native Dwight Powell, who worked hand-in-hand with commissioner Adam Silver in developing the health and safety protocols for the recently opened NBA campus at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

“It kind of fell into my lap a little bit with how it happened,” Lowry admitted. “But it was interesting to come up with some of the concepts and to talk that over, and understand (not just) what we’re trying to do but how we’re trying to do it, and make sure that it’s done the right way for all the players, coaches, and it’s safe and in the most healthiest way we possibly can do it.

“I think that we’ve done a good job so far with the safety aspects, the health aspects. I think there’s definitely going to be some adjustments that need to be made, but that’s the one thing about our league and our professionals, is that we make adjustments on the fly and we’re able to.”

NBA Players of the Week are Kyle Lowry and Dennis Schroder

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Dec. 16-22. Lowry earns the honor for the sixth time in his career and fifth time with the Raptors.

Lowry averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 39.6 minutes while helping the Raptors to a perfect 4-0 record last week. He shot .448 (30-for-67) from the field, .424 (14-for-33) from three-point range and .774 (24-for-31) at the free throw line.

Lowry began the week by recording the first of three double-doubles (20 points, 11 assist) during a 133-113 victory Dec. 16 vs. Cleveland. He then earned his franchise-best 13th career triple-double Dec. 18 at Detroit (20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds). Lowry finished the week by leading the Raptors in a franchise-record 30-point comeback Dec. 22 vs. Dallas. He scored a game-high 32 points, including 20 points in the fourth quarter rally that resulted in a 110-107 victory.

And on the West side of things, Thunder guard Dennis Schroder has been named Western Conference Player of the Week.

From the Oklahoman, “He averaged 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and six assists, lifting the Thunder to a 4-0 record last week. Schroder, an early Sixth Man of the Year candidate, beat out a field of starters to claim the honor.”

Business as usual, says Kyle Lowry

For a long time, the Raptors were Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and company. Now they’re Lowry, Kawhi Leonard and company. How does Lowry feel about the change? Here’s the Toronto Star from Raptors media day:

[Lowry] was hurt by the trade which sent DeRozan packing last July in return for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. But in his first public utterances about it Monday, the 32-year-old said he’ll simply do what he does.

“You know how it is, I come to work, no matter what,” Lowry said at the team’s annual media day at the Scotiabank Arena. “This is a business. I understand the business. I’ve been traded before, I’ve had a point guard drafted (supposedly to take his job) on draft night. It’s a business. I’ve always understood that.

“We come in here, come to work, and understand that’s what it is. Me, I have to come in and be in the best shape I can be, the best player I can be, the best individual talent I can be to help my teammates and to help our team win a championship.” …

That Lowry didn’t speak on the DeRozan trade until Monday isn’t surprising — he never does a lot of summer time media in any circumstances, and as long as he performs when practices and games arrive, what else matters?

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Raptors coach Casey wants Kyle Lowry in All-Star game

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The Raptors are 30-13 this season. A very impressive team that is doing it on both ends of the floor. They’re better than they were in the past. Will DeMar DeRozan be their only All-Star? Not if Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has anything to say about it. Kyle Lowry isn’t shooting as well or scoring as much this season, but he’s still one of the main reasons why Toronto is close to the top of league standings. Here’s the Toronto Star reporting:

Raptors coach Casey wants Kyle Lowry in All-Star game

Lowry finished eighth among Eastern Conference guards in voting for starters done by fans, the media and players and the only way he’ll get to the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles is to be chosen by coaches as a reserve.

That’s where Casey comes in.

“I’ve been texting coaches and going to be in tough with a lot of coaches to get him in,” the Raptors bench boss said Friday morning. “He should be in on his own merits, I shouldn’t have to do that because he is an all-star.

“If you find five other better guards, point guards in our conference than Kyle then I want to see them. I think the basketball gods will do the right thing and get him in.”

Eastern Conference coaches have to name two guards, two forwards and a centre along with two “wild cards” for voting that will be announced Tuesday night.

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