Less is more for DeRozan, Lowry

Dwane Casey was talking about sacrifices his team is making this year the other day and the first name out of his mouth was that of Kyle Lowry.

The second name was DeMar DeRozan.

The truth of the matter is both are accepting less now for the good of the team later but between the two Lowry is making the bigger sacrifice time wise.

“I applaud Kyle and DeMar for their sacrifice,” Casey said. “Those two guys have taken less minutes. It’s going to help them in the long run. It’s going to help their career if they want to play more years and it’s helping us now. When (Kyle) comes back in the game he’s fresher. At the end of the season — knock on wood because nothing is guaranteed — he should be fresher at the end of the year physically and mentally to play.”

The one less minute a night has not hurt DeRozan’s numbers much. He’s still getting up about 18 shots a game, down from 21 a year ago but he’s shooting at a better clip both from inside the arc and especially from behind it. His points per game are down just over two.

Lowry was playing more minutes a year ago than DeRozan and has taken a much bigger hit in the minutes department. He’s down just under five minutes a game and his shots are down just under three a game. His points per game average sits at 16.2 or 6.2 a game less than a year ago.

Casey will tell you his point guard is still making those winning plays for him but outside of charges drawn where he is tops in the league at 20 or five more than he had all of last year, most of his numbers have dropped across the board — so much so that Lowry’s chances of making it to a fourth consecutive NBA All-Star Game this season may be in jeopardy.

NBA head coaches will determine the reserves and they will be announced Jan. 23. The complete rosters, which will be drafted by team captains (the top vote getter in each conference) regardless of conference will be announced Jan. 25.

Casey believes both members of his starting backcourt are worthy of a fourth all-star honour but quite often it’s the bold statistics that make the decision and the Raptors’ point guard just may wind up coming up short there.

IT’S GOING TO HELP THEIR CAREER(S) IF THEY WANT TO PLAY (LONGER).