Fewer minutes should pay off for Lowry once playoffs begin

Dwane Casey spoke recently about the sacrifices his team is making this year and the first name out of his mouth was Kyle Lowry. The second name was DeMar DeRozan.

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.”

The one less minute a night has not hurt DeRozan’s numbers much. He’s still getting 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 more than two.

Lowry 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 — down from 22.4 less than a year ago.

His numbers have dropped so much that Lowry’s chances of making a fourth consecutive allstar game may be in jeopardy.

A much bigger payoff may come when the playoffs arrive and they have more to give because of that rest.

But for the time being, it’s about sacrifice and an all-star snub may be one that stings.