Lawson facing big road test
Guard draws assignments vs. Wall, Teague and Lowry over three-game span
washington » Want to know a little something about howwellTy Lawson is playing? Tune in the next three games, all on the road, starting Friday night against theWashingtonWizards. The three teams should provide all the insight needed to better slot Lawson in among the top point guards in theNBA this season, if he does well.
Because he’s about to get run through a gantlet of top-shelf talent. First up: JohnWall. TheWizards point guard is playing some of the best basketball of his career, with earlyseason averages of 18.1 points and 9.6 assists. The Wizards, one of the early-season favorites to challenge for an EasternConference title, are 12- 5. Next: Jeff Teague. The Atlanta Hawks guard perhaps is the most underrated point guard in the league. Teague is a scoring guard who dishes out assists aswell. He’s averaging 18.0 points, 7.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He’s sizzling from the field, shooting 48.6 percent overall and 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Third: Kyle Lowry. TheToronto Raptors rewarded Lowry for a stellar season in 2013-14 with a four-year, $48 million contract to stay in Canada. And thus far he’s held up his end by being dominant. He makes all of the important plays— especially now in the absence of injured guard DeMar DeRozan — and is averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds for a team leading the Eastern Conference.
Lawson is off to a scorching start as well, averaging 16.6 points and 10.3 assists, which ranks second in the NBA. The last Nuggets player to average a double-double in points and assistswasMark Jackson during the 199697 season.
Lawson has designs on making it to the AllStar Game for the first time. His best argument starts now, coming against these three top athletes at the position, and needing not just good games but victories as well.