Kyle Lowry Stays North

Kyle Lowry had a breakout season for the Toronto Raptors leading them to the three seed in the Eastern Conference. Raptors nearly advanced to the second round for the first time in over 10 years, but Brooklyn slipped past in Game 7. Much of the question is would this be a one-year flash in the pan because Lowry was an unrestricted free agent this summer. People thought he could be headed to Miami or other big-name destinations. Lowry decided to stay with the team with a four-year deal for 48 million dollars. Toronto might be taking a little risk, but he is vital to the Raptors' success.

Whenever a team signs a free agent or re-signs a player, there is always some danger unless your name is LeBron James. Lowry had a career year for Toronto after taking a slight stepback in his first year with Toronto. But he became the glue for this team. DeMar DeRozan gets the 'star' tag, but in reality, it is Lowry whose been the key cog to this team despite DeRozan scoring more than him. Lowry and DeRozan together is a lethal duo in the league. Arguably, one of the best 1-2 guard punches in basketball. It is hard to think of player in the league whom could replace his value.

Lowry was a top ten player when it comes to Win Shares last season with 11.7 and Win Shares per 48 minutes. There is no way Toronto could replace Lowry with the same type of player. Eleven wins for the Raptors team makes the difference from being a three seed to being an eight seed. Lowry also was a top ten player in assists, assists per game and three-point percentage. Lowry had a career season, no question about it, but there is nothing to think this is a one-time thing. He never got a chance to be 'the man' on a team, and Lowry finally got his opportunity which he seized to a brand-spanking new contract.

One of the reasons why this string of success will continue for Lowry is his increased free throws per game. It is sort of a basic stat, but for his career, he averaged only about 3.8 free throws attempts per game where as in 2014, Lowry shot one more free throw a game. It doesn't really show up in terms of attacking the basket, but he balanced his two's and three's to have the highest two-point percentage of his career since 2010-2011 season.  Further, it helped his three-point shooting was better than year's past as well. I wouldn't call Lowry a three-point shooter and we never know if this is a one year thing for him. That's something to keep an eye on next season.

The other thing that cannot go under the radar is the Raptors are building something big with their team. DeRozan is only 24, coming off a career year.  Terrence Ross is only 23, and he built on his rookie season where he went into double-digits last season. Amir Johnson averaged 10 points for the second consecutive season and is still young at 27. Most importantly, Jonas Valanciunas is on the verge of being a star. I could see a breakout season for him next season. Lowry is the captain and the technical veteran of this young team. Why wouldn't you want to be the lead guy for this group?

Toronto could be set for the future with Lowry and the young guns in place for a couple years. The Eastern Conference is not hard to be one of the big boys, and most teams are in doubt of what their roster will really look like in October right now. But T. Dot is all set and ready to contend for an Atlantic Division title again.

Charlie.

NBA Playoffs Recaps: Lowry! Lin! Parker! A Night for Point Guards

Toronto Avoids Collapse with Strong Play From Lowry
It seemed like a pretty calm first session of NBA games this evening. It didn't seem like anyone would make a real run at making it a close game, but Brooklyn Nets come back from a 26 point deficit to make it a close game late for another thrilling game in Toronto. Jonas Valanciunas is thanking his lucky stars because if not for a backcourt violation, Deron Williams 65 foot heave would have went in or at least hit rim before Jonas decided to jump for no apparent reason. It would have been one of the biggest blunders in sports history given the nature of the game, the collapse and everything. Toronto is thanking their lucky stars today. Kyle Lowry was terrific on Wednesday night as he had 36 points and six assists with making six threes as well. Lowry put Deron Williams on skates to get the go-ahead bucket as things looked in peril for the Raptors. I still think this series is going seven, but Brooklyn needs to keep Lowry contained on Friday.

Appropriate tweet: Toronto gave lint rollers away in honor of Drake and We The North might be my favorite team slogan ever.

So this is a real thing in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/pYsyTKP5UV
— Jim ICE (@Jim_ICE) April 30, 2014

Houston forces Game 6 
It felt like we were heading to another close battle between Houston and Portland as it became close late in the fourth quarter, but the Rockets pulled away with cold shooting from Trail Blazers forcing a Game 6 returning to Rip City on Friday night. Patrick Beverly battled a fever rendering him useless on the court as he looked sick with him bundled up, eating food and drinking more water therefore someone need to step up in the moment. The person choosing that role was Jeremy Lin. The goat of Game 4 became one of the reasons they are playing on Friday as Lin had 21 points making nine shots and coming up big for this Rockets team. Also a big part of this game was Omer Asik and Dwight Howard combined for 29 rebounds inside which goes a long way.

One of the underrated storylines from last night was how bad LaMarcus Aldridge played on Wednesday. LMA had back-to-back 40 point performances, and Houston held him to single figures. It could be an aberration and Aldridge ends up having a huge game on Friday night yet if Houston figured out the secret to stop him, it becomes a whole new series.

Parker powers Spurs past Mavs
Even though San Antonio won Game 4, Tony Parker faced some criticism because he struggled most of the game and battled a bum ankle. Parker flipped the script in Game 5 being the difference for San Antonio with 13 second half points giving the Spurs a 109-103 victory. Parker finished the game with 23 points being one of the five San Antonio players in double figures. He took control of this game, and that's an encouraging sign for the Spurs moving forward in this series and the playoffs. If Parker can get over his dinged ankle, San Antonio will be the contender again like we all expected them to be in the NBA postseason. Spurs also dominated Dallas inside as they scored 26 more points in the paint than the Mavericks. It started to feel like the Spurs are taking advantage in this series. I wouldn't be surprised if they close out on Friday night.

Appropriate Vine:  Great answer from Gregg Popovich as Vince Carter was lighting up San Antonio



Charlie.

DeRozan Propels the Raptors in Game 2

Toronto Raptors haven't won a playoff game in six years. They have a sneaky great basketball fanbase there, and their pop culture profile has grown with the addition of Drake as an ambassador plus Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in attendance. Raptors dropped Game 1 with a tough fourth quarter and needed to bounce back to avoid going down 2-0 before heading to Brooklyn. Toronto took control of Game 2 and held on in the fourth quarter notching their first playoff win since George W. Bush's final days in office winning 100-95 with a great effort from DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas plus should make a big deal about Paul Pierce's postgame comments?

In Game 1, it appeared DeRozan played tight. He did not play like the player we have seen this season only having 14 points. He was not a real factor to the game. Sometimes all it takes is one game to get the nerves out because DeRozan returned to form on Tuesday night and then some. He had 30 points, shooting 45 percent and getting to the free throw line 14 times. DeRozan used his slashing aggressive nature to become a problem for the Nets. Both Kyle Lowry and him appear to be a real problem for an older Brooklyn team as they have to deal with the continuous push of the basketball. Brooklyn looked pretty tired when DeRozan kept attacking him.

One of the great things about the playoffs is we can see some young players shine and then it propelled them to have a great season the following year. Jonas Valanciunas made his presence felt on Tuesday with 15 points and 14 rebounds with an efficient game. He played great inside adding a different element to Toronto's game versus just the reliance on the guards. This is a key thing for Toronto as they need a third scorer from somewhere. It doesn't matter if he comes off the bench or if it is Valanciunas dominating in the paint. Mason Plumlee and others have to be better about protecting the paint or we could see a breakout April for Jonas.

With Valanciunas strong post performance, it paved the way for Toronto's domination on the glass against Brooklyn. They outrebounded the Nets, 53-30, with 19 offensive rebounds, eight more than Brooklyn. While turnovers were an issue for T Dot, they made up for it with a strong rebounding night.  Add what the guards do on the outside and if the big men plus others can clean up the messes, we are looking at a pretty strong team. Maybe a stronger one than we were giving them credit for to begin the playoffs. Brooklyn will need to adjust what they are doing in the paint to avoid the rebound discrepancy in the following games.

Paul Pierce seems to agree with me as he lamented after the game about the offensive rebounds and the fact, Toronto got 50 points in the paint. Pierce threw around the 'soft' label which is a bigger s word than shit in NBA circles. I think it is a clear tactic to fire Pierce up who did not have a great game going 2/11 and also the few young Nets players on the roster. If you add Kevin Garnett's comments about an angry Brooklyn crowd, Pierce obviously wants to add an edge to the team he believes is missing right now. The Truth knows exactly what he's doing.

I thought this series had a chance to be the best in the Eastern Conference. Add in the 'F Brooklyn' stuff plus two close games, we are seeing a budding rivalry build before our eyes. Game three comes to us Friday, and I for one, cannot wait.

Charlie.