Thursday, February 13, 2020
National Basketball Association 2020
The
basketball world lost one of its legendary players last weekend when
a helicopter crashed in California. Kobe Bryant was killed, along
with his daughter, and seven other passengers. His passing was
acknowledged by several basketball teams by allowing the 24 second
clock to run out on the first possession. It was as if time stood
still, paying tribute to a great player. Late last week, LeBron James
passed Kobe on the all time scoring list, moving into third place.
His tribute to Kobe was most deserving.
At the tail
end of last week's column, I said that I would report on the Raptors
this week. Much of what I write will be a tribute to Kyle Lowry.
I was
shocked to learn, in my bit of research, that Lowry is now playing in
his 8th season for the Raptors. Before that, he played
four years for Houston, and three years in Houston. Time flies.
From the
team's perspective, he worked very well with Demar DeRozan up to the
beginning of the season last year, but just not quite good enough to
make a deep playoff run. DeRozan was traded for Kawhi Leonard. Good
things happened for the Raptors, culminating in an NBA Championship.
Leonard left
at the end of the season, creating a significant void. Fortunately,
several other members of the team have stepped up to keep the Raptors
in contention. Such is not the case with the Golden State Warriors.
Once Steph Curry suffered the injury at the start of the season, the
team spiraled out of contention, now resting firmly in last place.
Lowry comes
from a tough area of South Philadelphia, but in most of his
interviews he does not like to dwell on his past. He reports that he
learned a little from all of the coaches he has played for, including
Kevin McHale, who coached him in Houston. “He was only trying to
help me become a better player. Team, team, team. I didn't understand
his philosophy.”
For Lowry,
trust is a most important concept. The development of that trust does
not come easily for him. As his game improved, in high school, he was
approached by several colleges. But he ran into some unfortunate
situations because of that process. Others made commitments on his
behalf, without his knowledge. Some colleges, four in fact, committed
a scholarship to him, then yanked it off the table. He played his
street ball against guys who were five years older than he was,
playing tough to earn court time.
In 2010, his
wife, Ayahna, told him he was going to be a father. “That changed
everything for me,” he said. He now has two boys, Karter and
Kameron. Sometimes you can see them racing against Lowry to the
dressing room after a game.
Pound for
pound, he has to be one of the toughest players in the NBA. Standing
at just over six feet, he often plows to the basket fearlessly, and
takes the blows. But that is part of his game, and he leads his team
with his competitiveness.
He now
averages 20 points per game, with more than 7 assists. Over the last
several years, he has averaged more than 30 minutes a game, never
easy minutes.
The Raptors
are well positioned at this point in the season to have a good
playoff run. There are strong teams in the East, as in the West.
Would there be another title in the cards for this year? Not likely.
But there will be great basketball from the Raptors, led by Kyle
Lowry.
January 27,
2020
James Hurst
-- James Hurst 613.399.2278 sportslices.blogspot.ca
# posted by James Hurst @ 7:22 AM 
