The Most Under-Appreciated Backcourt Duo
When thinking about NBA backcourt duos, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson come to mind immediately, but there is a duo that isn’t far behind them and not getting nearly enough recognition.
The game of basketball has changed drastically in the past couple of decades. Particularly in the NBA, the backcourt made up of the point guard and shooting guard wasn’t necessarily the positions that would hold the biggest scoring load.
Having a dominant big man in the paint seemed to be the key to success, thinking back on guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and even as far back as Wilt Chamberlain.
The point guard’s role in history was to strictly set up the offensive sets and get their teammates the ball in the most effective scoring positions while the shooting guard had more of a scorer’s mentality. In the game today we see that on a good portions of teams, the point guards are the first scoring option, followed by the shooting guard.
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This season, there is one duo in the backcourt that seems to be getting overshadowed despite their tremendous production–the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Last season, Lowry and DeRozan ranked 13th in backcourt duo’s based purely off stats.
Team such as the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, and Oklahoma City Thunder often get all the attention because of their big-named stars. But this season, Lowry and DeRozan are going to put the league on notice.
This season they rank second among NBA backcourt duos behind Golden State’s. Here’s a comparison from the 2014-15 season to the current season (30 games).
2014-15 statistics: 49.8 ppg, 11.1 rebs, 12.9 asts, 3.6 stls, 0.5 blks, field-goal percentage: 40.9, three-point percentage: 34.5
2015-16 statistics: 52.7 ppg, 12.6 rebs, 12.6 asts, 4.4 stls, 1.3 blks, field-goal percentage: 42.8, three-point percentage: 34.4
The rankings so far this season look like this: Golden State 61.3 points per game, Toronto 52.7 points per game, and San Antonio in third with 39.8 points per game. The Raptors’ duo is a landslide ahead of third place and is ahead of Golden State in rebounds, steals, and turnovers.
The duo’s production has lead to another solid start for the Toronto Raptors as they are currently in second-place with a 18-12 record. There is one huge difference between last season and the current one–Kyle Lowry’s weight.
It is clear that Lowry shed a good amount of weight over the summer to avoid the fatigue that plagued him last season. He is averaging career-highs in points (20.9 ppg) and rebounds (5.0 rpg) while continuing to dish out six assists a night. Without more of the weight being put on his knees throughout the duration of the season, it isn’t far off to assume this level of play will continue.
DeRozan is also putting together an impressive stat-line tying his career high in points per game with 22.7 while grabbing 4.4 rebounds and handing out four assists per game. He is still struggling mightily from three (shooting 25 percent), but his ability to slash and knock down the mid-range jumper makes him a tough match up–not to mention his 6’7″, 220-pound frame.
With or without the spotlight, this duo will continue to wreak havoc across the league. Being in the weak Eastern Conference will only help boost both their stat-line and argument for being the most under-appreciated backcourt duo in the NBA.
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They aren’t knocking down 20-plus threes a night like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson or putting up routine triple-doubles like Russell Westbrook does for Oklahoma City. They just play an all-around solid basketball game that is ultimately leading to victories for their team, and it’s time to put that on notice.