Lowry made it a day to be thankful
Raptors star flew in master chef to feed his teammates
As long as the NBA keeps scheduling the Toronto Raptors on the road during American Thanksgiving, Kyle Lowry is committed to making sure the holiday isn’t missed by his teammates.
For the second year in a row, Lowry, at his own expense, flew in master chef Shawn Loving, a man who cooked for both the men’s and women’s U.S. national teams at the Olympics in Rio, to put together a meal for the Raptors and their staff Thursday night at the team hotel in Indianapolis.
It was turkey and all the fixings, but at a little higher culinary level than most Americans likely had.
“It was awesome, man,” Lowry said. “Having an opportunity to hang out with the guys, bringing in the great chef Loving to cook for us is awesome. Get an opportunity for everyone to hang together and play some air hockey and ping-pong, watch football and eat good food. It’s a special time of year and we Americans take this holiday very seriously.” Lowry started the tradition last year when the team was in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving and it was such a hit he decided to do it again.
MILES MEETS DAUGHTER
The Raptors will have to get by without their knock-down veteran shooter for at least one game and perhaps two.
C.J. Miles made it back to Toronto following a quick flight from New York Wednesday night to be there when his wife gave birth to the couple’s first baby.
The Miles family welcomed a little girl into the world Thursday night at 10:03 p.m., according to Miles’ Twitter feed. He was not in Indianapolis for the game Friday against his former Pacers teammates, which the Raptors lost 107-104.
The Raptors play again Saturday night in Atlanta. No one seems sure whether or not Miles will be flying in for that game.
JOSEPH FITTING IN
Pickering, Ont. native and two-year Raptor Cory Joseph has settled in nicely with his new team following a signand-trade by the Raptors that brought C.J. Miles to Toronto and freed up money to retain other assets.
Joseph has not wasted any time getting acclimatized here in Indy. The career 33 per cent shooter from behind the arc has improved tremendously in that area and is shooting 46.8 per cent from distance this year.
Joseph’s absence in Toronto is felt in a number of ways. “Cory stands for everything you want your organization to stand for,” Casey said. “It was a business situation, but you miss him. I ran into him after practice yesterday. Beautiful young man, you miss him that way, but for four nights a year he’s the enemy.”