Toronto Raptors: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2018-19

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(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2. Kyle Lowry

The incumbent star is running out of time to make magic with the Raptors.

Since coming over to the team in 2012, Kyle Lowry has been nothing short of a superstar. He’s now made four consecutive trips to the All-Star Game, never having made it in any of his previous stops. He also made the All-NBA Third Team in 2016.

Basketball is a team game, though. Here’s what Toronto has accomplished as a team in Lowry’s six seasons with the Raptors:

2012-13: Missed playoffs
2013-14: Lost First Round
2014-15: Swept First Round
2015-16: Lost Conference Finals
2016-17: Swept Conference Semifinals
2017-18: Swept Conference Semifinals

Making it past the first round of the playoffs in three consecutive seasons is an accomplishment, but Toronto’s inability to get over the hump has left them as the NBA’s most accomplished laughingstock.

This is Lowry’s team. It has been for several seasons now. Accordingly, he carries the weight of what this team has and has not accomplished over the course of his tenure, especially with DeRozan off to San Antonio.

Lowry has two years left on his contract. He’s running out of time to cement himself as a legend in Toronto.

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