NBA Toronto Raptors

As Raptors Go, So Too Goes Kyle Lowry’s NBA All-Star Game Fate

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Kyle Lowry (left) of the Toronto Raptors drives to the basket past Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics on January 10, 2015 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NBAE via Getty Images)

Dave Sandford-Getty Images

If Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry is truly serious about being included in current discussions about starters for the upcoming NBA All-Star game, he needs to concentrate on his shot selection.

Lowry has elevated every other part of his game this season since stepping in for injured star DeMar DeRozan. But after his team’s recent losing streak, one of Lowry’s glaring sore points has been taking too many shots at the wrong time. Heading into Saturday’s game against the Boston Celtics, Lowry was averaging 22.5 points per game but shooting a not too noteworthy 37.8 percent from the field as Toronto dropped four straight. You could see the frustration in the faces of both he and his teammates as their wings had simply fallen off.

But Lowry and Toronto reversed their fortunes on Saturday, snapping their slide with a 109-96 victory over the trade-impacted Celtics and improved to 25-11. Lowry scored 19 points, five rebounds and seven assists and shot a slightly better 7-for-17 (41 percent) from the field. The victory was more of a well-rounded team effort and coach Dwayne Casey‘s roster shuffle — where he inserted forward James Johnson over Landry Fields and also got a key contribution off the bench from Patrick Patterson — seemed to be enough for Toronto.

“This is huge for us. We know if we are not scoring well, we got to be able to stop people, and I think today in the second quarter we demonstrated that defense and just brought it into the second half,” Johnson told Canadian broadcast network Sportsnet 360 after the final horn.

Johnson was one of five Raptors in double figures and scored 17 points and 10 rebounds while also throwing down a fourth quarter highlight-reel dunk over Boston’s James Young that brought the house down at the Air Canada Centre.

Some of his teammates picking up the slack seemed to help Lowry and quieted the arguments that he is really in the deep end over his head, is playing too many minutes and has finally run out of gas since stepping into full-time duty. On Saturday, he played the entire first quarter without taking a breather, played a total of 38 minutes — more than any player on either team – and the fatigue clearly began to show.

And there are other more worthy candidates for the All-Star starter’s role for the East. Consider the performance of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving — he is one of many point guards in the East that poses a serious challenge to Lowry’s claim spot on the floor at opening tip off.

Sure, you can’t judge Lowry and his entire season by his recent numbers over the past five games. Lowry is indeed enjoying the best season of his career and has also provided consistency to his team when they needed it most. But there have also been other moments too where he has looked less than All-Star starter caliber. The projected starting point guard for the Western Conference Stephen Curry walked all over Lowry and posterized him when the Raptors’ downward spiral really took shape with a humiliating loss against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 2.

Despite the recent slump, the calls have still grown louder from the Raptors’ ‘We the North’ following to vote for Lowry in this year’s Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15. Maybe hockey-loving Prime Minister Stephen Harper should have checked Lowry’s shot selection chart and the Raptors’ recent slump on Tuesday before Tweeting out his call for all Canadian citizens to vote for Lowry but can be excused for his latest gaffe. It all doesn’t look so bad now after Saturday’s win.

There also appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Lowry too. In the coming weeks the pressure will be off Lowry’s overburdened shoulders as the anticipation mounts and the attention shifts to the pending return of DeRozan from his groin injury. There is already a buzz at team practices about DeRozan’s return, which at last word could come as early as their Jan. 16 game against the Eastern-Conference leading Atlanta Hawks.

The important thing to remember about Lowry’s All-Star case is whether or not he gets the dream gig at MSG. He’s enjoying a season to remember and has nothing to be ashamed of. He should enjoy the moment.

Peter Mallett is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RedCardTheRef1 like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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