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 Game Seven Weekend: Big Stars Shine the Brightest

Every night there is some sort of drama about the NBA Playoffs. Every game is worth talking about even if it is just to make fun of somebody. The recaps look at the game itself and what could be upcoming for the teams.  


Brooklyn hangs on after a near-collapse in Toronto
The poor Raps. They battled like hell back in the fourth quarter after being down 10, and it seemed like there was no chance they could win this basketball game yet Toronto came back to make it a game in the final minute. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry did not have a defining Game 7 performances for the right reasons. DeRozan took it to the tin with three minutes left drawing an offensive foul and then a technical. Thankfully, Brooklyn came up empty on both attempts, but still, you need to keep their composure. Lowry had the final shot for a win and Brooklyn collapsed on him with three defenders yet he didn't pass the ball. That needed to happen, but instead Lowry tried to be the hero which did not work out for him.

Amid the comeback, Joe Johnson came to play on Sunday. We talked at the beginning of the series about how Brooklyn had closers on their team with Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Joe Cool stepped out to close out this basketball game. He had eleven straight points for Brooklyn at one point in the fourth. Solid performance from Johnson.

Clippers close out Warriors with a big second half
What a great game this was to close us out on Saturday night. Golden State had an early lead, but slowly, but surely, Los Angeles started to put themselves back in the game with some tremendous performances by the primetime players for the Clippers. Once again, DeAndre Jordan played terrific making all six of his shots, having 15 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. I have said this once, will say it again, if Jordan provides this kind of production, Los Angeles is the best in the West. Chris Paul had a great game after some concern about him with his injuries to his hand and hamstring. Paul had 22 points with 14 assists. J.J. Redick came up big late in the game which helped send Golden State home.

I am trying to figure out what Golden State's management's issue with Mark Jackson. Stephen Curry wants him to keep his job which would probably be my indicator he should stay put, but if Golden State forces him out, it will be interesting to see what it does for team chemistry.

The best shine through in Oklahoma City. 
We tend to see big players step up to the plate when it comes to Game 7's. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are two of the best in the league, and they showed it on Saturday with major performances. Durant had 33 points with 12/18 shooting with eight rebounds. In the last two games since the whole newspaper snafu, he has been excellent. But the bigger story was Russell Westbrook. He had another triple-double with a bananas stat line. Westbrook finished the game with 27 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds including a couple steals and blocks to go with it. He really looked strong out there, and if Russ is playing at this level with the good 90 percent, not the bad 10 percent, Oklahoma City is a scary, scary team. I like everything they are doing right now.

Pacers handle their business, dispose of Atlanta 
ROY HIBBERT FINALLY SHOWED UP. Well kinda. He had 13 points with seven rebounds making six shots which is more than what Hibbert has done in this whole series. Have to respect Frank Vogel for still trotting him out there and trusting him when literally no one had his back. Paul George was the bigger story. A primetime player stepped up in the big moment with 30 points taking over in the second half. George finished off the Hawks with great ease and looked great out there. Even though Indiana's story has been about their struggles, George is excelling in the playoffs. The numbers are up in both points and rebounds with George averaging a double-double with him being the top player on this team. Also worth noting how well Lance Stephenson played with an efficient scoring night with 19 points 14 rebounds and five assists.

Spurs wake up and finish off Dallas with ease 
Many people wondered how the Mavericks got to seven games with San Antonio? It seemed like Dallas could maybe get one or two games, but no one thought this team could bring it to seven games. San Antonio shot over 70 percent in the first two quarters meaning it was complete curtains for Dallas' chances to pull the upset. Tony Parker was excellent with 32 points with making eleven shots on 19 attempts with none being from outside the arc. Parker dressed down this Dallas team, and it is fair to say, he is healthy from his ankle injury which could be big trouble for Portland. Another thing to keep an eye on is Danny Green's performance, he had been struggling, but last two games, he is averaging 16.5 points with 6/8 from three. If Green comes to play, this is a different San Antonio team.

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.

Tapping The Keg Podcast Episode 86

Tapping The Keg podcast rolls on with a late afternoon edition features the two stalwarts of the SnoTap Podcast game with Charlie and Mitch yapping at you about all things sports. We talk about James Young sitting next to Rihanna last Friday, and who would be some of the people we would be nervous to sit next to, this also leads into another couple fun tangents. Despite their loss today, we talk about the Milwaukee Brewers success in the first month of the season and why they are for real with no collapse involved. We also talk about Wei-Chung Wang's spot on the team. We move on to discuss Donald Sterling scandal more so from Doc Rivers angle plus some other things. We talk about the upcoming NBA playoff games and Jameis Winston's crab leg mistake.

Charlie.

Eight Thoughts About NBA Playoffs Weekend

Even though I am taking a slight break form SnoTap, I still am watching as much sports as possible. I had work through the weekend so I DVR'd a ton of NBA programming much to the dismay of my 'roommates.' What a weekend for the NBA on the court. Obviously, what happened off the court is terrible for the league, but we can make the argument, has the league ever been better than right now?  Every night is must-see television with four series and a possible three more going sixth games (Sorry Bobcats) is fantastic for the product.  Let's talk about some of the things that happened this weekend. 

1.) Rockets-Blazers is the best 3-1 series I have ever seen - WHAT A SERIES. Three of four games have went to overtime. Each game has been must-see television and will be again when Portland tries to close them out in H-Town on Wednesday night. Once again, Houston had Portland where they wanted them until a late run yet Houston battled back finding a way to earn it at the free throw line giving them a quick lead before Mo Williams happened. Jeremy Lin is the obvious goat in this game. All he had to do was pass the ball ensuring Williams would not cause the turnover and then he had a putrid close out against Williams which allowed the long-time veteran to force overtime Wes Matthews had two clutch steals in the extra period to ensure victory for Portland. Four Trail Blazers had 20+ points.

2.) Reggie Jackson is owed millions of fruit baskets - Game 4 was a true turning point in the Oklahoma City-Memphis series because the Thunder won an overtime game where Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined 30 points. 30!  That's usually a point total for either Durant or Westbrook so the fact they won forcing another trip back to Memphis is unbelievable. All the credit goes to Reggie Jackson with 32 points and nine rebounds with 11/16 from the field. Jackson is a true slasher but he did add two threes in this one. He played 21 more minutes than he did in Game 1 or 2 so I will be interested in seeing how much run Jackson gets from the rest of this series.

3.) Washington might be the second strongest team right now... Wait what? - Dead serious man. It is Miami and then Washington. You could put Portland there too, but let's be real, they have played better in the final five minutes of the game rather winning complete games. Washington has it all right now ranging from scoring guards to tough interior presence as well as guys who aren't going to take any shit from anyone i.e. Nene getting popped for a game for head-butting Jimmy Butler and Bradley Beal getting in Kirk Henrich's face. I love the makeup of this team right now, and I think it is not unreasonable to think this team can end up in the Eastern Conference with ease.



4.) Vince, Monta... Dallas up 2-1?  How? - Man, I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine. I thought when San Antonio played Dallas, it was better than facing Memphis. But these are a group of wily veterans who have been there before and Rick Carlisle is one of the most underrated coaches in professional sports are giving them all sorts of problems. Monta Ellis has been terrific thus far in the series creating all sorts of problems for San Antonio. I don't think the Spurs are in trouble, but this is definitely going six or seven games.

5.) Clippers too distracted to win the series? - We already talked about Los Angeles situation with Donald Sterling this morning, but now I am wondering if they are in a little bit of trouble with the Warriors. Los Angeles gave up 118 points on Sunday with Golden State going 55 percent from the field and nearly 50 percent from three including a red hot from Stephen Curry. Also Los Angeles had 19 turnovers. I am not saying they will mail the series in through the rest of the way, but I cannot help but think they are wondering 'Why am I playing for this team?'  It's a fair question to ask right now.



6.) LeBron's staredown of MJ is a full heel move and an awesome one  - Not much to say here, but it was a professional wrestling move from LeBron. He knows people compare him and Michael Jordan all the time where Jordan is still the fan favorite. LBJ gave him the 'I don't give shit who you are look, I am the king of this business.'  I loved it. Embrace the villain Bron, I have been saying that for years. Although now, I think Miami needs to win another championship or LeBron's staredown will be a popular meme this June.

7.) Brooklyn and Toronto looks like a hockey playoff series - This has become quite a physical series where the fouls are hard and scoring is not easy. Toronto held Brooklyn to 79 points on their home court with a strong defensive effort plus the one-two punch of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combining for 44 points. Toronto also had a great night from the free throw line missing only four free throws while Brooklyn missed 10 of them which is an obvious difference in an eight point game. It will be absolutely bananas in Toronto for Game 5. I think this game gave T.Dot all sorts of confidence.

8.) Pacers are being held together by string - One of the big themes from this series is Indiana's slow starts in the first half of the games. Pacers only had 42 points in this one before coming on strong in the second half with Paul George and David West hitting big 3-pointers for them late in the game. Indiana is going to win this series, but if they were playing a high-quality, above .500 eighth seed, I don't think it is a given Indiana is winning the series.    

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.