Kyle Lowry Is A Maniac, But A Very Helpful One
Lowry isn't the All-Star player he used to be, but his lunatic antics will help the Sixers when it matters most.
Daniel Olinger is a writer for the Rights To Ricky Sanchez, and author of “The Danny” column, even though he refuses to be called that in person. He can be followed on X @dan_olinger.
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Kyle Lowry is a maniac.
If I ever had to play against him, there’s no doubt in my mind I’d throw something at him by the game’s end. And that’s the most prestigious compliment I can give to any basketball player.
Though Buddy Hield and Cam Payne were the only two players that Daryl Morey actually traded for on deadline day, it was widely assumed that Lowry was on the way. The North Philly native was stuck in Charlotte Hornets purgatory after being traded by the Miami Heat in exchange for Terry Rozier, simply waiting for a buyout so he could join a contender once more.
Only four players in the entire NBA have played more combined regular season and playoff games than Lowry. At 37 years old, he's a clearly diminished version of the player he once was.
But Lowry didn’t become a six-time All-Star because he was more physically gifted than his peers. He became a star because he’s more insane than all of them. Whether it’s clapping at refs to give the ball quicker, or taking multiple charges in the 2020 All-Star game, no one hunts for marginal advantages like Kyle Lowry.
For example, you might think T.J. McConnell and Jose Alvarado are the only point guards crazy enough to chase after steals in the backcourt in 2024. But watch Miami games from earlier this season, and Lowry still has the urge to check his man for all 94 feet.
Lowry in particular loves to swipe the ball away from an opponent directly following a defensive rebound, sneaking up behind them and swiping at the ball from an angle where they can’t see him. He’s so maniacal that he’ll even do this after his own missed shots.
Swiping up is a consistent theme throughout Lowry’s defensive film. It’s not that he won’t swipe down when going for a steal, but whereas other NBA players almost exclusively swipe down when trying to knock a player’s dribble loose, Lowry prefers knocking the ball up into the air.
Why? My best guess it that he wants to keep the ball in play, potentially creating a live ball turnover that his team can turn into fast break points on the other end.
Regardless of why Lowry plays the way he does, the energy and activity he brings is undeniable. He is always looking to get deflections off-ball, always digging at the nail and rotating to an open man. He plays defense with the non-stop goal of making something happen.
That’s not to say Lowry is a perfect defender. At 6’2” with a 37 year-old’s vertical, taller players have an easy time shooting jumpers over him. He just can’t elevate high enough to bother them with a contest.
Likewise, he’s not a jitterbug point of attack defender like he once was. He’s become more susceptible to the Tyrese Maxeys of the world blowing past him with their youthful speed. However, Lowry still makes do with his physicality, aggression and instincts. Not to mention, he’s still an unmovable fire hydrant inside whenever a larger player foolishly tries to post him up.
On the other side of the court, Lowry’s offensive stats are nothing to write home about. The 8.2 points per game he averaged with Miami this season is his lowest mark since 2009, and though 38.5% from three and 58.2 TS% are efficient marks, the Villanova product doesn’t shoot the ball near frequently enough for defenses to treat him as a dangerous shooter.
But similar to his defense, Lowry provides value on offense by finding advantages in areas that other players overlook. He’s a ferocious off-ball mover, ghost screening and cutting into open creases at any chance he gets.
We’ve already seen in four games how Hield has rejuvenated the Sixers’ offense with his blend of off-ball gravity and on-ball capability. Lowry isn’t in the same tier of shooter as Hield, but his pedal-to-the-medal, never-stop-moving style will be a welcome addition in Philadelphia.
Of all the aspects of Lowry’s game that have become diminished in his post-Toronto years, it’s his on-ball scoring that stands out the most. He’ll still nail a step-back three every once in a while, and he has a fun mid-range bag where he’ll half spin to his right, only to pivot back left for a fadeaway. But by and large, Lowry the self-creator is no more. No longer can he drop 31 points on a plethora of off-the-dribble jumpers like he did in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Miami specifically traded Lowry for Rozier because they were more confident in the latter’s ability to create his own shot in the crucial moments of a playoff game.
Lowry more often relies on his guile, craft, and strength when trying to score 1-on-1 these days. He’s become particularly reliant on these weird, two-handed push shots from just outside the restricted area, which go careening into the basket far more often than they should.
He realizes he doesn't have the vertical to rise up over defenders, nor does he possess the same stop-start quickness from his younger days. But he has power, and he’s still got a knack for flopping at just the right time to draw a shooting foul.
Trading for Lowry back in 2021 when Toronto was demanding Maxey in return would have been a huge mistake (obviously). He’s a Raptors legend and most likely a Hall of Famer, and a deserving one at that. But it became very clear, very quickly, that he’s now in a different stage of his career. Lowry should not be a starter on a team that thinks it can win the title in 2024.
Good news for the Sixers is that Lowry will only start if something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. He’s more or less the Pat Bev replacement, only with more reliable shooting and savvier off-ball play. Payne isn’t the worst point guard out there, but if his three-point shot isn’t falling, he’s a tad too untrustworthy on both ends of the court to be in a playoff rotation. Moving him down to the “break in case of emergency” point guard role is a better fit.
Lowry is still a net positive on the basketball court, it’s just that his value needs to be distributed in more specific doses throughout each game. Coming off the bench in spot minutes to relieve one of Maxey, Melton or Hield should give him that exact opportunity.
He’s not the “star” that Spike and Mike were hunting on The Ricky for the past few months. But he is a basketball maniac, a little-things king who will be up for the task come playoff time. I already wrote about how the only thing that will change Embiid’s legacy at this point is postseason success, and that can be extrapolated to the whole team. You acquire Lowry not because he drastically changes your regular-season win total, but because he’s a mad man who swings a playoff game or two, which is all that really matters for this franchise at this point.
He probably won’t hit seven threes and jumpstart the offense, but he will dive headfirst into the sideline in a meaningless game in Memphis, just one month away from his 38th birthday.
Lowry isn’t a star, but he is a maniac, and that counts for a heck of a lot in basketball.