LOWRY RISES UP WHEN HIS TEAM NEEDS HIM MOST
Kyle Lowry put his head down and drove into the teeth of the defence, then pulled up, rose up and hit a floating jump shot from 13 feet that gave the Toronto Raptors a little breathing room late in a close game.
This was not the shot from Wednesday night.
It was in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year, and with two minutes left, the Raptors had been barely hanging on to a fourpoint lead against the Golden State Warriors. With Oracle Arena rocking and a comeback looming, Lowry decided to create and then take the shot. It gave his team a lead of six points — and they would need them.
It was also almost exactly what he did in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics the other night. With less than 30 seconds left and the Raptors up by just two, Lowry backed his defender down, then jumped and turned, this time from 14 feet away from the basket. The shot was pure and again the Raptors would need every part of that four-point lead as they survived elimination and forced a Game 7.
Raptors fans have mused about a Lowry statue outside the Scotiabank Arena for a while; but what would the statue look like? Lowry’s greatness is a whole-package thing, the hustle plays, the fearlessness, the little things like passing to an oncoming teammate and then subtly stepping in front of an opponent to clear the path to the hoop. Can you make a statue of a guy drawing an offensive foul?
Wednesday night provided the answer: the statue would be of Lowry, all six feet of him, rising up to take a contested mid-range jumper. Not pretty, but effective and hugely important in the moment. Much like Lowry.
It feels a little silly to be writing an ode to Lowry after all he has done. But he is a player that has still — even after that monster game that clinched the championship — never received his due.
This is, at least in part, a lesson in narrative. Lowry went through 2½ bad playoff runs with the Raptors, as did most everyone else in red jerseys. It became accepted fact in NBA circles that the Raptors were not to be taken seriously in the playoffs. Lowry, as one of the two all-stars on those teams, had to wear that reputation.
But it hasn’t applied to him since 2016, when Lowry found his stroke in the second round against the Miami Heat. He scored 36 and 35 points in the final two games of that series, and had a pair of 35-point games in the following series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In subsequent seasons he would absolutely lay the occasional playoff egg, but even when Lebron James and the Cavs casually brushed the Raptors aside, Lowry was playing well and shooting effectively. Those playoff exits were not his fault.
Last season’s playoff run was Lowry in full. It began with a zero-point stinker against Orlando, and ended with 26 points against Golden State. Now comes this season. All Lowry has done is burnish his legacy. He had 31 points in 46 desperate minutes against the Celtics in Game 3, finishing it off with the miracle pass to OG Anunoby for the game-winning shot with half a second left.
On Wednesday, no one else could make a basket for the Raptors, so Lowry started doing it himself. This is the thing about Lowry: he’s never supposed to be the first option on offence.
It’s why his numbers will never be gaudy. But for years, he’s had moments when he stops just doing all the little things and, sensing the need, does the big things, too.
There will be talk of statues and of retired numbers and Hall of Fame cases when this season ends. But for now it’s just Kyle Lowry being the most important player in Raptors history. And it is something to see.