Kyle Lowry Is An All-Star In 2011-12
Do not rub your eyes or try to pinch yourself, casual NBA fan. It is in fact the Houston Rockets’ Kyle Lowry who leads the NBA in assists at this young juncture of the season, not Chris Paul or John Wall or Derrick Rose. Lowry has improved vastly each year since he was given the chance in Houston, where he has played since 2008 after beginning his career languishing on the bench in Memphis.
Since joining the Rockets, Lowry has doubled both his point and assist totals, and he is averaging 13 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds through four games this 2011-12 season. Following a two-point, 18-assist effort in an 11-point win over the Atlanta Hawks on December 31st, it is clear that Lowry has crossed the threshold from solid NBA starter to All-Star caliber and quietly taken over as the best player on his young team, the rare leader who contributes in whichever area his squad needs him to in order to secure a win.
It was a bit of shock in 2010-11 when Lowry supplanted the incumbent Aaron Brooks as Houston’s starting point guard. The diminutive Brooks was, after all, an explosive offensive dynamo and rising star after a stellar performance in the 2009 playoffs and a 2010 NBA Most Improved Player award sitting on his mantlepiece at home. Lowry resembled a pudgy fullback more than an NBA point guard and, besides, he couldn’t shoot.
Well, Lowry has improved exponentially each season and three-point shooting, especially in tense end-of-clock scenarios, has become one of his strengths. The 25 percent he is currently chucking from behind the line this season may not support that improvement, but the numbers are skewed because Lowry has the ball in his hands so often and is forced to throw up a fair share of desperation heaves.
He is shooting a more-than-solid 41 percent overall from the field and over 90 percent from the free throw line. The latter statistic is crucial because Lowry gets to the line so often; his entire game is predicated on rugged, physical drives to the basket, where his bullish body and reckless abandon usually yields a foul or hard-earned lay up.
And if Lowry’s two-point output Saturday night suggests he cannot score, think again; he scored 20, 15, and 16 points in Houston’s first three games, and nearly earned a triple-double in each contest (including a 16-point, nine-rebound, and nine-assist effort in a blowout win over San Antonio). Lowry has a legitimate chance at averaging a near-triple double in 2012.
The most important thing about Lowry’s improvement has been his innate understanding of what his team needs out of him in any given situation to win. When the shot clock is winding down and the Rockets need someone to take a long shot, Lowry can drain it. When his teammates are hot and they need the ball, Lowry supplies it, often in transition, where his high-octane “bull in a china shop” mentality yields quick fast break buckets. And when an opposing guard is streaking for an open lay up, the 6-foot Lowry is there to block it, as he did to Jannero Pargo of the Hawks Saturday night in a Sportscenter-worthy swat. Lowry has stiff competition in the West for an All-Star bid from usual suspects like Chris Paul and Steve Nash, and Houston will have to stay competitive in the win-loss column for his name to remain afloat, but as long as Lowry plays at his currently high level, Houston will be in the playoffs in 2012 and have a certified All-Star to lead them.
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I’m going to have to disagree there’s just too many guards in the Western Conference that will overshadow Lowry. Although he has started out the season strong it will be interesting to see if he can keep up his pace.
Though his shooting numbers are definitely concerning 40.5 percent from the field and 25 percent from three.