Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry is a deserving all-star, despite the silly process | National Post
On Thursday evening, Lowry was named an all-star starter in the Eastern Conference. He trailed 10-time all-star Dwyane Wade by about 100,000 votes as of two weeks ago, but Raptors fans helped Lowry erase that deficit over the last 10 days of voting. The Toronto point guard will start alongside Washington’s John Wall. He joins Vince Carter and Chris Bosh as the only two Raptors to ever be selected by fans to start in the game. DeMar DeRozan and Antonio Davis also played in the All-Star Game as Raptors. Undoubtedly, the Raptors’ push to get Lowry elected by the masses was the biggest reason this happened. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory all tweeted votes for Lowry, with retweets of those missives counting as votes as well. (Justin Bieber also voiced his support, but forgot to add the essential “#NBABallot” hashtag. That tweet had 46,305 retweets as of Thursday afternoon. The thousands of retweets made Monday’s voting deadline were lost votes. This was the unquestioned highlight of the campaign.)
“Woooooo That Boy Good!!!” congratulations not only on making it but starting @kyle_lowry7 #WeTheNorth #CanadaStandUpPhillyToo Ein von @iamamirjohnson gepostetes Foto am
Lowry is an NBA all-star, and he did it his way | Sportsnet.ca
It was a development that no one could have seen coming. While a year ago Lowry was in the midst of the best season of his nine-year career up until that point, he was passed as a reserve in voting by NBA coaches, in part – it was thought – because the tightly-knit coach’s fraternity held against him his reputation as a prickly malcontent that followed him from stops in Memphis and Houston. His stock was low enough in the summer of 2012 that then-Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo was able to acquire Lowry from the Houston Rockets for a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. In his first year with the Raptors he chafed at having to share playing time and starts with Jose Calderon and by the middle of last season current general manager Masai Ujiri had worked hard to trade Lowry only to have deals with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors fall through or not quite get to the finish line. The Raptors were poised to rebuild and Lowry was a piece that could be leveraged for future assets. In the space of a year, everything is different.
Raptors’ Kyle Lowry voted in as an NBA all-star starter | Toronto Sun
When asked on Wednesday how he’d react if named a starter, Lowry — in his third season with Toronto after being acquired in a bit of a heist by Bryan Colangelo — replied, “I don’t even know. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know what to say. I’d be shocked but we’ll see. I’m not really banking on it, I’m just going out there. I know the Canadian fans did a great job of voting for me and I appreciate them. Hopefully, they did their job and something special happens from it.” Something special happened indeed, even though Justin Bieber messed up a tweet that would have given Lowry about 40,000 more votes and even though team global ambassador Drake declined to back the team’s best player. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s support got lowry 15,000 votes through retweets.
Lowry has felt slighted, under-appreciated and overlooked for most his playing career, even before the Grizzlies selected him with the 24th overall pick back in 2006. Only recently has he channeled that passion into becoming the player, person and leader he is today. “He’s relentless, he’s gritty,” DeRozan said of his teammate and good friend. “That’s one thing he brings every single day and it shows in his play every time he’s out on the court. That’s his personality. The same way he plays, that’s how he approaches working out, film, every single thing. It all carries over.” “I mean it’s definitely amazing,” he continued. “I know the feeling firsthand, from last year. Just to see how hard he worked. I think every player in this league has the goal to be an all-star. That’s a great accomplishment. It’s just a credit to the hard work he put in last summer. He carried the team while I was out and proved his worth. It’s been great to see.”
For Lowry, his first selection to an all-star team caps a dream two seasons with the Raptors. Once deemed a bit of a problem child because of a streak of stubbornness that led him to bounce from Memphis to Houston to Toronto, the Philadelphia native has matured into a true team leader with the Raptors, who are comfortably on their way to a second straight Atlantic Division title and were third in the East with a 27-15 record heading into play Thursday. Lowry was unavailable for comment Thursday night because he was hosting a dinner for teammates and club officials at his Philadelphia home. “Thank you to the wonderful Raptors fans across the NBA, especially in Canada! I am amazed by your passion for our team and the support you have given me,” he said in a press release put out by the team. “When I re-signed here this summer I said one of the great things is being able to play for an entire country. This is further proof how really special that is.”
The Raptors fan base, in support of Kyle Lowry, came through to get their guy in, while ousting Dwyane Wade at the same time.
NBA All-Star Game starters: Who did the fans get right and who did they snub? | The Washington Post
But Kyle Lowry is the engine behind the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, putting up career-high numbers in nearly every important category and carrying the team to the third-best record despite all-star DeMar DeRozan missing almost half the season with a groin injury.
Stop Calling Mike Conley Jr. Underrated | Grantland
In Memphis, Conley joined a roster that was already crowded at his position. The Grizzlies’ point guard backlog featured Kyle Lowry, who’d been the team’s first-round pick in the previous year’s draft, and then 12-year veteran Damon Stoudamire. “It’s funny because I was there at the draft party,” Lowry said. “I didn’t understand what the situation was going to be … I love Mike. Mike’s my guy. We play golf and I always knew Mike would be as good as he is. But you never understand the politics of no matter what you do, you’re [drafted] 24. He’s four. He’s going to be given the opportunity.” As much as the players liked each other, professional pride and ambition was bound to come between them. Whichever point guard Memphis chose as its future leader was bound to get more chances to prove his worth, to play well, and to increase his market value for his next contract.
Toronto Raptors: The Time To Trade Terrence Ross is Now | Baller Mind Frame
The best-case scenario for the Raptors would be to trade Ross, and maybe Landry Fields (who also has an expiring contract) for a big man and a reliable backup point guard. If the Raptors received the latter, it would allow Vasquez to continue to play starter minutes and Lou Williams wouldn’t have to control the second unit. Williams would be able to play as the second-string shooting guard and look for open shots instead of running plays, as the only play he knows how to run is isolation. In terms of the trade market, Miles Plumlee would be a valuable addition to the Raptors lineup. At 6’11” and 255 pounds, he has the ability to protect the rim and finish around the basket. Plumlee’s playing time has dwindled for the Phoenix Suns this season and it seems to only be dropping with the addition of Brandan Wright. Therefore, a new home may benefit the third-year center exceedingly.
Rumor has it that the Toronto Raptors are interested in the struggling center. It is a more complicated deal as Plumlee will come along with Gerald Green in exchange for Terrence Ross, Tyler Hansbrough, or Landry Fields.
Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers: Friday NBA game preview | Toronto Star
The Raptors are listing Jonas Valanciunas as questionable with a sore left calf, an injury that popped up in Wednesday’s game at Memphis. . . . At 8-34, the Sixers are not the worst team, record-wise, in the NBA and “won” a vital draft lottery ping-pong ball game by losing to the Knicks on Wednesday. . . . Of those eight wins, only three have come at home for Philadelphia, 3-17 at the Wells Fargo Center. . . . Sims hurt his ankle in that game against New York and is listed as questionable. . . . Guard Carter-Williams is averaging 20 points and shooting 44 per cent from the floor in his last six games.
Toronto Raptors: Terrence Ross the Super Sub?
The early results of this lineup change has been indicative of Ross’ career thus far – flashes of the top flight athlete and slasher one night, totally invisible the next. T-Ross dropped 16 points and five boards in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks, but importantly, he looked as relaxed as he has been in a while, with confident drives to the rim. Coach Dwane Casey rewarded his young swingman with crunch time minutes, and he delivered with two clutch buckets in the final minute. The next game, Ross put up a predictable dud, going scoreless in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Now the big question is how will the former Slam Dunk Champ respond to this new found adversity? Will he finally find some consistency and continue to play with the same attacking style like in the Milwaukee game?
A Toronto Raptors’ Investigation: The Dwane Casey Files | Hoops Habit
Casey stated he “can’t play everybody” in his post-game presser. Newsflash: Johnson is not Tyler Hansbrough, you are benching a player who is worthy of being inserted into the starting lineup. The Bucks rank 27th in total rebounding per game, and one of the team’s most active and disruptive players is not installed in the game-plan? … Tough crowd, indeed. Alloting just 7:43 of playing time in the Grizzlies follow-up now resides as an insult. To the players, and to the fans. With an annoying scale that almost reaches levels of You Tube Ad’s with no “Skip” button.
NBA Preview – Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers – Jan 23, 2015 | CBSSports.com
“We can’t hesitate,” coach Dwane Casey said. “We have to walk into our shots – shots we normally make – and knock them down. The shots will fall.” That was the case for DeMar DeRozan for in his first three games back from a torn left abductor. He averaged 22.3 points and 54.0 percent shooting, but in the last two he’s totaled six points on 2 of 20. A rare positive during the rough stretch has been Toronto’s play in the paint. The Raptors have produced 41 offensive rebounds and 41 second-chance points in the last two games.
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