Kyle Lowry didn鈥檛 have a good game yesterday. It wasn鈥檛 even anywhere near adequate. In 33 minutes on the court, he posted a mere seven points on two-of-eight shooting from the field. He鈥檚 the National Basketball Association leader in assists, but he wound up with just four, the same number of turnovers to his name. For all the negatives, however, it鈥檚 doubtful whether he would want a do-over; after all, the Raptors won, and against the highly regarded Sixers to boot. And, if nothing else, he was his usual solid self on defense, coming up with three steals en route to a starter-best plus-five rating.
Regardless of the numbers, Lowry knows he鈥檚 an integral part of the Raptors鈥 surge to the top of the East. His presence alone spreads the floor, and his veteran smarts spearheads the system instituted by first-year head coach Nick Nurse. He鈥檚 a professional first and foremost, which is why he continues to thrive despite his bitterness over the trade that sent erstwhile franchise top dog DeMar DeRozan packing. And his knowledge of the value he brings is precisely why he can get away with dissing Masai Ujiri, the operations head behind the trade that turned his best friend into a Spur.
As Lowry told ESPN The Jump鈥檚 Rachel Nichols in an interview aired on the eve of the match, he understands that 鈥測ou got to go out there and do your job. You get a trade, your job is still to go out there and play.鈥 And, by all accounts, it鈥檚 a move that has the Raptors reaping dividends. It owns the league鈥檚 best record at 21-5, and his productive partnership with former Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard portends a deep playoff run. The next steps, as he knows, are to live up to expectations and sustain the excellence, easier said than done.
The latter is less Lowry鈥檚 decision than Leonard鈥檚, but he鈥檚 clearly doing all he can to make the Raptors home to the two-time All-Star. Should the ideal happen, then great. If not, he鈥檒l continue to be around to further the cause of the red and black. Apart from death and taxes, he鈥檚 their surest thing.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
