Lowry vows to atone for ‘bad year’
Point guard welcomes chance for fresh start after sorry season in which ‘I was not myself’
It hit him sometime this summer, when he was finally healthy and relaxed and away from the grind of a disastrous NBA season.
Kyle Lowry came to understand just how bad his first season with the Raptors was, how he might have let down his teammates, his coaches and himself and he’s going into this season promising better things.
“It was a disappointment in general, in everything,” the veteran point guard said of his first season in Toronto. “My play, my body, just everything. It was just a bad year for me.
“I’m lucky enough to have the opportunity to play one more year here and to make amends for a lot of things. I felt I could have helped the team do a lot better.
“This was the first time in about three or four years where I had the opportunity to not be hurt this summer. I didn’t have any surgeries, no nicks and bumps I had to worry about.
“I had the opportunity just to work and it was a more steady schedule for me.”
Lowry’s 2012-13 season was a disappointment from start to finish. He got banged up in training camp and that set him back; he got out of shape and never got truly fit; he was trying to figure out a new coach and it didn’t work.
It was at times abysmal, at times frustrating to teammates and left coaches scratching their heads. Lowry now realizes it was on him to be better.
“We’re fine,” he said of his relationship with head coach Dwane Casey. “He’s coach, I’m player and that’s it. I listen to coach and that’s how everything is going to work. There’s no carryover, there’s no animosity, there’s no problems. He’s going to coach me, he’s going to coach the other 14 guys and we’re going to go play.
“Last year was just a year where I was not myself, I wasn’t healthy and I didn’t help the team at all. This year it’s a differ-
“He’s taking his leadership position very seriously . . . more important than his play and his numbers is his positive leadership.” DWANE CASEY RAPTORS COACH, ON KYLE LOWRY
ent year, it’s a different me, it’s a different culture, it’s a different everything here. It’s really good and everyone gets a fresh start, kind of.”
Casey is also welcoming a fresh start with a starting point guard who is entering the final year of his contract. If there were issues between the two early last season, they eased late in the year and Lowry’s obvious physical improvement — he looks to have dropped about15 to 20 pounds — shows a level of commitment the coach needs.
“I’m very proud of Kyle,” said Casey. “First of all, what he did to his body in the summer was huge — that shows the seriousness he has about this season. What he has to do is continue that through the year. He’s taking his leadership position very seriously and like I told him, more important than his play and his numbers is his positive leadership.
“Believe me, I don’t want to lose the Kyle personality. I want the tough, ornery point guard he is — it makes him the player that he is — but (with) that positive leadership and doing it the right way.”