Kyle Lowry - Defensive Dynamo 18/19 (Charge Drawing Champion)

Kyle Lowry. NBA CHAMPION. 2016 All-NBA Third Team. 5x NBA All-Star. 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist (USA Basketball in Rio). Arguably THE greatest Toronto Raptor in the history of the franchise. Kyle Lowry was the first Raptor to hold the Larry O’Brien trophy. He hold it over his head, and one of the first things to notice is that his thumb is still heavily wrapped. He finished atop the leaderboard in playoff charges drawn with 16. He has more than the next two players on the list combined (Draymond Green had 8, Damian Lillard finished with 7). He was also #1 in the playoffs in loose ball recovered with 45. Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard finished second with 38. Steph Curry (36), Andre Iguodala (35), Draymond Green (30), round out the top 5. He finished third in overall playoff deflections, behind two former Defensive Player of the Year winners (65, compared to Kawhi’s 72 and Draymond’s 68). What I’m trying to say is that while he largely dictated the pace of the Finals (video on that later), he also REPEATEDLY put his body on the line in order to make winning plays.

The point of this video is simply that it’s a celebration of some of what Kyle does best: sacrificing for the team, and using his smarts, timing, and complete lack of fear to force the issue. He’s all of 6’1” and played much of the playoffs injured, but he still put his battered body in front of the basket, between guys like Joel Embiid, Draymond Green, Ben Simmons, DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Klay Thompson. Bigger and stronger guys coming with a full head of steam. “You pay for it later. At the moment, as long as you win the game, it’s all worth it. Whatever you have to do to win the basketball game, your body, just throw it out there and whatever happens, happens.”

Lowry spent two years at Villanova University. Three years with the Memphis Grizzlies. Four years with the Houston Rockets. He was a journeyman and a back up point guard. He was looked at as a bad influence in Memphis, a negative in the locker room. Then he found like with Rick Adelman in Houston, but once Kevin McHale came in, that was the beginning of the end of his time in Texas. After seven years in Toronto, he stands as an NBA champion. He was pushed along the way. The story goes that guys like Chauncey Billups and Tyronn Lue helped give him guidance. Along with DeMar DeRozan, they decided to STEP UP and take ownership of Canada’s only team. Six years they spent succeeding during the season. Six years they spent languishing in the playoffs. The first season, they fought the Kevin Garnett, Paul “That’s Why They Brought Me Here” Pierce and the Brooklyn Nets to seven games. After that, they were treated (fairly or not) as the butt of many jokes. Swept by Washington in the first round. Then went a combined 2-12 against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the coming years. Throughout it all, Kyle continued to lead. Kyle continued to push, to fight, to struggle. To put in the type of defensive effort and intensity reserved for the games biggest stages. Persistence pays.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/basketball/article-risk-reward-raptors-kyle-lowry-a-master-at-drawing-charges-but-can/

https://stats.nba.com/players/hustle/?sort=MIN&dir=1&Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Playoffs&PerMode=Totals

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Видео Kyle Lowry - Defensive Dynamo 18/19 (Charge Drawing Champion) канала Evin Gualberto