Kyle Lowry gave an interview to Grantland and Bill Simmons.
Kyle Lowry tells Bill Simmons about the Raptors’ approach to this year’s playoffs, the great chemistry in the Toronto locker room, and the team’s passionate fans.
Check the video here. Highlights and quotes below.
- Chicago’s the best team he’s faces this season, because of size
- “I love Toronto, they showed me the attention that I wanted”
- The league is very competitive at the PG position, it’s a lot of fun
- Playing against Russel Westbrook makes you sore, very tough matchup and you know you’re in for a long night
- Most competitive guys in the league? Westbrook, Kobe
- Talks about how him and Conley splitting minutes in Memphis, and how “it doesn’t work when you have two competitive young guys” going for the same position, vying for minutes
- “I always appreciated [Darryl Morey] for giving up that pick and [acquiring me]”
- Joking called Marc Gasol…”fat Mark, and he got me when I was fat me”
- Asked if Raptors are done making moves, “We let Masai do that stuff. We have such a great group, we don’t look at what people are saying”
- Rudy Gay trade, asked if he knew Vasquez was going to be such a weapon, “No…Everyone just filled a void and accepted a role”
- “After the break is the time guys can figure out jockeying position, and where you want to be. I don’t think you mess with the matchups, but you figure out who you’re going to see”
- Best player in the league: “I’m going to go with LeBron and Steph”
- Asks if Bruno has gone through puberty, “I don’t think so, honestly, I don’t think so…he’s starting to get older as I see him. From August until now I’ve seen his face change…he’s a kid, he works though, he’s going to be an interesting project. He’s got the talent and skill level”
- Fans chanting Bruno, “It’s crazy, fans chanting ‘Bruno, Bruno..’..it’s a pretty cool affair we have with Bruno”
- “No explanation [Amir Johnson] being underrated…he might have some of the worst ankles in the world, but he plays through it every single night. Dives on the floor, takes charges, blocks shot. People don’t really appreciate the things he does because of his numbers [because he does everything else]”
- “We can’t replace [Amir Johnson], everything he does is intangible things, things that we need to be done. He covers for defensive mistakes, missed shots, tip-ins, he runs the floor hard”
- What does Jonas need to get better? “Just get older, more mature, more repetition, just to play. He’s still 21 years old, still hasn’t played enough basketball…just repetition…we’ve yelled at him enough to get to the right spot…he’s not [yet] comfortable shooting the jumper, but he’s a good FT shooter.”
- Why the great chemistry? “First of all, you got me and DeMar, we lead our team. From 1 to 15, nobody cares who’s the man on the night. Nobody cares who’s the superstar, no-one cares who’s the All-Star. All we care is about winning games, and that’s rare in this league”
- After the Gay trade, we felt the “winning culture”
