Nogueira responding to Lowry’s leadership
Raptors big man responds well to all-star point guard’s positive reinforcement
It is an odd coupling and there is slim chance that Lucas Nogueira’s somewhat carefree outlook on life is going to change the bullheadedness of Kyle Lowry as the Toronto Raptors’ season progresses.
But there is some odd connection developing between the young, coltish Brazilian and the time-hardened product of inner Philadelphia and if Lowry can impart some of his intensity to his teammate, the franchise is going to be better in the long run.
We’ve seen it of late: Lowry encouraging when he has to, chastising when it’s necessary, always in Nogueira’s ear and mind, bringing out a buried intensity in the 24-year-old big man.
There were a couple of examples in Milwaukee on Friday night.
Nogueira was downcast, with the fouls piling up and his life away from the game impacting his play on the court. The outing with the Bucks looked like it might be one of the worst of Nogueira’s season. There was Lowry, at one time literally trying to shake some sense into his teammate.
And then Nogueira came up with a couple of stellar plays, the kind of blocked shots and game-altering plays only he can make, and there was Lowry again beaming, for him, like a proud parent.
“I was kinda down during the whole game, for some reasons outside the court, and ... that game was my fourth or fifth game they call me three or four fouls in a row, so this is the reason I was very frustrated,” Nogueira said Tuesday. “So when I blocked those two in a row, he come and grab me and say, ‘You’re doing well.’ ”
It was music to the young man’s ears and a vivid example of Lowry’s leadership abilities.
“This is the reason, people ask me, ‘Who is the leader?’ I say ‘Kyle’ because he’s a great leader, and when he saw me down, he came and grabbed me and said ‘Let’s go, let’s go,’ ” Nogueira said.
There are many facets to Lowry’s leadership abilities, actually. He can be vocal when he needs to be, rattling cages every now and then, offering kind-hearted support if that’s called for. But his best attribute could be that he goes hard all the time, and that rubs off.
“I think Kyle’s a leader by example when people see him bust his butt, go down there and dig out a loose ball, take a charge, run back and block a shot in transition,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Then the other night, I think in the Milwaukee game, Lucas was struggling a little bit and then he came up and got two big blocks and Kyle said ‘Hey, that’s the Lucas we need.’
“So those words of encouragement from Kyle and DeMar (DeRozan) are huge, especially from Kyle. Both of those guys are our leaders and that’s what they’ve got to do. They’ve got to be the coaches on the floor, give them encouragement, get on guys when they don’t do their jobs, as (the coaching staff ) will. Our team is going to go ... the way they go.”