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Herbert: Lowry, Raptors losing mental game
- Updated: May 5, 2016
TORONTO — The facts: This postseason, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has missed 77 of his 111 shots. From 3-point range, Lowry has missed 42 of his 50 shots. He is averaging 13 points and has yet to shoot 40 percent in a game.
On Tuesday in a 102-96 loss in Game 1 against the Miami Heat, Lowry went 3-for-13 — his three makes were an awkward leaner, a layup off the glass and a beyond-halfcourt heave that forced overtime. No one has shot this badly in the playoffs in 50 years, per ESPN Stats and Information.
“I’ve had a few struggles like this in my NBA career, but nothing this bad,” Lowry said Wednesday. “What makes it worse is that it’s the playoffs. And I just read, [Raptors media relations director Jim LaBumbard] showed me I was the worst shooting playoff player ever in history. So I’ll take that award. “
Lowry laughed and continued, “I mean, it’s an award, it’s something to live by. I’ll take some type of good with it. But it is what it is, man.”
He sighed and shook his head, then added, “It’s life. It’s a basketball game. I know I can shoot better than 31 percent.”
It is bizarre and fascinating to watch Lowry play like this. During the regular season, he was arguably one of the 10 best players in the league. He averaged a career-high 21.2 points with a true shooting percentage of 57.8 percent — the only starting point guard more efficient was Stephen Curry. He started in the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and led the Raptors to a franchise-record 56 wins.
This was supposed to be the year that Lowry and his team put their playoff struggles behind them. Two years ago, Lowry shot 40.4 percent in the Raptors’ seven-game series against the Brooklyn Nets. Last season, he shot just 31.6 percent in their four consecutive losses to the Washington Wizards. Lowry spent last summer getting into the best shape of his life and showed up at media day saying he knew how poorly he played in the postseason. He transformed into “Skinny Kyle” because it gave him a better chance of avoiding injuries and sustaining his play for an entire season.
Lowry said his issues are not mechanical or related to the elbow injury he admitted was bothering …
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