Past catches up with Lowry, Dragic
Former Rockets teammates set to square off in Game 1 when second round tips off
In 2010-11, the Houston Rockets were riding through a tumultuous season, unaware they were sitting on something of a gold mine.
Yao Ming only played in five games that season, his last in the NBA before injuries forced his retirement. The Rockets won 43 games, missed the playoffs and fired Rick Adelman.
Kyle Lowry was their starting point guard, and they had Goran Dragic backing him up. The franchise was going through transition, not winning immediately, and funnelling players through their roster, with an eye on James Harden.
Dragic eventually overtook Lowry as the team’s starter, and Lowry was traded to the Toronto Raptors.
“Back then I wasn’t really playing, so I could just sit on the bench and watch these guys and it was great,” said Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll, who was with the Rockets briefly that season.
“They went pretty hard in practice. You could tell there was tension but at the same time they had to play with each other. I’m very encouraged and very excited to see this battle.”
Dragic, now the Miami Heat’s starting point guard, and Lowry, a twotime all-star with the Raptors, get to revisit that battle in Game 1 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinal here Tuesday.
“I guess it might be very feisty,” Carroll continued. “I don’t know if Goran is still thinking about it, but I know Kyle is still thinking about it probably.”
Lowry has long played with a chip on his shoulder and this series, this matchup, should peck away at the ultra-competitive point guard.
Dragic’s journey took him from Houston to Phoenix as a free-agent, then saw him traded to Miami last year. He signed a five-year, $90 million (U.S.) deal with the Heat last summer and put up 14.1 points and 5.8 assists this year.
“Me and Goran, we have a great relationship,” Lowry said. “We shared some time together in Houston and it’s definitely going to be a good challenge, it’s going to be fun.
“At the end of the day, he’s still a guy I respect. He’s earned the respect of fellow NBA players. I’ve watched him be my backup to the guy starting over me and him going to Miami and playing well.”
“(They’re both) tremendously better,” Carroll said.
“In Phoenix, Goran was like an allstar there but he kind of took a back seat now and is playing his role. Kyle stepped up and became an all-star. They both matured in their own ways.”
Dragic and the Heat will hope Lowry’s offence stays right around where it was when he was a Rocket. His 13.9 points per game against the Pacers in the first round are almost identical to the 13.5 he gave Houston that year. His offence missing, Lowry usually found other ways to impact the game. He took charges, played physical and dished the ball. His 7.6 assists in the first round are a playoff careerbest.
“You’d like to (get more from Lowry),” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “But again, my thing is he’s our guy. We have faith in him. His shot’s going to come. Let the game come to you. If your shot’s there, take it. Don’t force it. And I thought he’s been doing a good job of that.”
The Raptors’ hope for this series is that Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were simply stifled by an elite defensive Indiana backcourt. Getting consistent play out of both guards — and especially some scoring from Lowry — will give the Raptors a much better chance of success in this series.
“The first (series) is always the hardest, and now you can go back to playing basketball like you know how to play,” said Carroll, who saw a much looser group in practice after the Game 7 win.
“I think that’s what is going to happen. I see a lot of big games for a lot of guys in the future, Kyle Lowry especially.”