As Kyle Lowry went to the floor with a sprain of his right ankle, any hopes of the Toronto Raptors making the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season went with him.
Lowry has quickly become the heart and soul of the team and without him on the floor, they'll be back in the lottery and not the playoffs.
Lowry's injury is yet another in the long list of physical setbacks that he's endured throughout his career. In the last nine months alone, Lowry has missed time because of a strained right elbow, a groin injury, a bacterial infection, a sports hernia, a strained thigh muscle and now an ankle sprain.
Make no mistake about it—Lowry is quite a talent, but if he can't be on the floor or is always battling injuries, it's hard to fully count on him.
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun stirred up some panic with this tweet:
Kyle Lowry hobbled out of arena in a "precautionary" walking boot
—Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) November 7, 2012
Before his injury, Lowry was playing a terrific brand of basketball. In the first three games of the 2012-13 season, he averaged 23.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, seven assists and 3.7 steals. He was shooting 57.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three-point line and 94.4 percent from the free-throw line.
If Lowry were able to keep those numbers up and get the Raptors to the playoffs, he'd be a front-runner for the MVP award.
This injury comes at a horrible time for the Raptors, who were demonstrating a renewed sense of confidence—and for good reason. They've acquired quality talent, the team is buying into coach Dwane Casey's defensive principles and they have youth on their side.
Wolstat would later stamp out some of the fires by clarifying the extent of Lowry's injury:
Calderon said team relaxed when told Lowry's injury was: "nothing big", "just a quick twist, nothing to be alarmed of."
—Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) November 7, 2012
Assuming that Lowry comes back relatively quickly, there's still the major issue of why Lowry can't seem to stay healthy. Any athlete that goes through that many injuries in such a short time will have lingering problems unless he is able to rest.
There's simply no time to rest. Lowry went into the summer of 2012 with a bacterial infection before thigh strain interrupted his start to the preseason. Now, in just his fourth game, he's got the ankle sprain.
From here, the Raptors will have to depend on veteran Jose Calderon to run the offense. While he's dependable and a good shooter, and he won't hurt them with turnovers, he's not the right fit for their offense. There's a reason the Raptors acquired Lowry and pushed Calderon to the side and even though Calderon took it well, it's fitting that now it's the team that needs Calderon.
The Raptors won't make the playoffs without a healthy Lowry. For some reason, Lowry can't seem to stay healthy. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
Check out my blog over at HoopsHabit.com! Show your support by becoming my fan here on Bleacher Report and follow me on Twitter to be the first to know when my newest articles arrive!
No comments:
Post a Comment