Kyle Lowry: Examining His Struggles In The Playoffs

For each of the past two seasons, Kyle Lowry has established himself as one of the premier point guards in the NBA; but when playoff time hits, the Toronto Raptors floor general has had to suffer through some historical struggles.

The starting point guard of the Toronto Raptors did not take the conventional route to NBA stardom. He had to endure years of playing second fiddle to lead guards like Mike Conley and Aaron Brooks before finally being given the chance to run his own team.

Now, at age 30, the Philadelphia native is a deserving two-time All-Star guard, making the Eastern Conference elites for each of the past two seasons. His individual success has also trickled to the breakout of the North, as the Raptors have emerged as one of the conference’s best teams.

In many ways, he is the engine and life-source of Toronto, often offsetting his backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan‘s archaic, mid-range dependent style, by scoring and creating the majority of his points at-the-rim and from beyond the arc.

But, as much success as the former Villanova Wildcat has enjoyed these past two years, when the weather begins to heat up in the months of April and May, his level of play has generally tapered off significantly.

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Last season, his downward spiral began in February, as injuries and his inherent reckless style took a toll on the 6-foot wrecking ball.

Vowing to not let history repeat itself, Kyle got into the best shape of his life; for much of this season, it looked as if his hard work and newfound shredded physique had paid off, sustaining his All-Star play through the entirety of the season as “Skinny Lowry.”

In fact, he finished top-5 among all point guards this season across the board in the eyes of advanced statistics, from PER (player efficiency rating) to WS/48 (win shares per 48 minutes); form VORP (value over replacement player) to BPM (box plus-minus).

He was also rated among league’s best defensive players at his position, ranking third among all floor generals in ESPN’s DRPM (defensive real plus-minus).

But, as the North invaded the 2016 NBA postseason as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, Lowry’s unwavering swagger and aura would taper, driven in large by a bothersome elbow.

His numbers have taken a steep nosedive once again, despite leading the Raps to their first conference finals appearance in franchise history.

Yes, he might be banged up, but so is everyone else at this time of the year.

At this point, his playoff dropoff has become a trend. Over the last two seasons, Lowry has averaged 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists a contest on .555 TS% and a PER of 20.8 in 147 regular-season games.

However, in the playoffs, his averages plummet to 16.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on an abysmal .453 TS% and a PER of just 13.2 in his 20 playoff matches.

Kyle Lowry’s 35.7% FG shooting this postseason is the worst in the last 50 postseasons (min. 200 shots). Cavaliers-Raptors, 8:30 ET, ESPN
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 21, 2016

Full disclosure, Kyle did string together two impressive games to close out the Miami Heat during the Eastern Conference semifinals just a couple of weeks ago; but that was without the presence of Hassan Whiteside clogging up the middle.

In the postseason, halfcourt defenses are generally much stingier, and most playoff teams tend to protect the rim with an increased fervor.

During the first round, Lowry had trouble turning the corner against the likes of George Hill, the long, gangly point guard of the Indiana Pacers. And in the rare event when he did, he was often met at the rim by Ian Mahimni and Myles Turner.

When the Raptors advanced, Kyle’s shooting struggles had consumed him, as he was determined to get to the teeth of the defense. The problem was that for the majority of the series, Whiteside had Lowry overthinking everytime he got into the lane.

Now, in the conference finals, facing the King and the James Gang (a.k.a., LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers), his poor play has become a mental hurdle, as he failed to put up double-digit points in each of Toronto’s double-digit blowout losses before finally breaking out in Game 3.

Lowry notched 20 points in 33 minutes on Saturday on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from deep.

And as Kyle Lowry enters the wrong side of 30, one has to wonder if his inability to breakdown and finish over playoff defenses is going to heightened.

Looking forward, with his aforementioned All-Star backcourt mate entering free agency this summer, it might just be time for general manager, Masai Ujiri, to tear down his Northern empire and begin a sustainable rebuild.

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But then again, the Toronto Raptors are a 56-win team that houses one of the league’s lowest payroll s.

With some free agency luck, and hopefully, a more apropos decreased workload for Kyle Lowry, with the support of an entire country, the North may be contenders in the NBA for years to come.

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Kyle Lowry: Scoping His Playoff Struggles

By Aaron Mah | May 22, 2016

For each of the past two seasons, Kyle Lowry has established himself as one of the premier point guards in the NBA; but when playoff time hits, the Toronto Raptors floor general has had to suffer through some historical struggles.