Notes and Quotes: All the Raptors got on the Plane

Kyle Lowry is 100% healthy. Or not. You try to figure it out.

Lowry: "I'm 100% healthy. I understand the questions … I have to pick it up, simple as that."
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 24, 2015

You can tell by Kyle Lowry's voice that he's sick, but he insists "I'm 100%"
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) April 24, 2015

Another thing from shootaround: Kyle Lowry wasn’t doing much on-court stuff. Was clearly sick. As one reporter put it “frog in throat."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) April 24, 2015

Maybe he’s doing the Amir Johnson thing where he says he’s healthy but grimaces every time he has to take a step. See, Lowry has to play, if for no other reason that there’s a 2% chance that he just might catch fire and win the game for us single-handedly. It’s like buying a lottery ticket. It’s obvious to anyone watching that he’s hurt, and any talk that “this is what he really is” is just BS. What we should be upset about is how his minutes, injury, and return from injury was managed during the regular season by the Raptors organization.

There’s also some response to Casey, who described what he told the team:

“If you’re not going to Washington to compete, don’t come out to the airport. We’ll get you a nice meal somewhere in Toronto at a nice restaurant and you can watch it on television.”

Again. This is the playoffs, effort is not an issue. Nobody on the Raptors is dogging it so no idea what Casey’s issue is here. Patterson responded to the comments:

Pat on Casey's challenge: "I wasn’t taken aback because I know I want to compete. I know I want to play for this team… give it my all"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 24, 2015

Pat on Casey challenge: “It was something he felt needed to be said. All my teammates were no the plane… Everybody must want to compete”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 24, 2015

More talk about toughness coming from Vasquez:

Greivis: "You know what? I woke up this morning & I was like, regardless of the outcome, personally I think we have to show more toughness"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 24, 2015

How are you going to get “tough” when you have the physical limitations Vasquez does? There aren’t many comments from the players about actual adjustments that they might make, and it’s mostly around effort and toughness, which doesn’t fill me with great confidence. Vasquez did acknowledge his physical limitations and offered to compensate for it through some thuggery:

Greivis: "I’m not going to back down. I might not be the greatest athlete but I will hit some big shots and I’m going to hit somebody"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 24, 2015

asdfadsf

Here’s a video from shootaround at Georgetown: