AUBURN HILLS, Mich – It’s on.
Five weeks after having surgery to remove bone fragments from his shooting wrist Kyle Lowry took the floor for the Toronto Raptors against the Detroit Pistons.
It’s his first appearance since the NBA all-star break and gives him four games to get acclimated with two new teammates – Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker – before the playoffs begin a week from Saturday.
The Raptors have fared surprisingly well without their three-time all-star point guard, posting a 14-7 record and a .667 winning percentage – best in the Eastern Conference and better than the .578 mark the Raptors had before the break.
They entered their game against the Detroit Pistons and the Palace of Auburn Hills – the Raptors last game at the arena before the Pistons move to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit for next season – tied for third in the East with Washington, although the Raptors have the tiebreaker over the Wizards.
But getting Lowry back 10 days before the playoffs with four games for him to get up to speed with teammates old and new had everyone around the club moving with an extra bit of jump.
“We get a complete team, finally, with Kyle,” said Raptors guard Norm Powell. “Now we get to see everything come together right before the regular season and get a rhythm with him, Serge and P.J. right before the playoffs. It’s going to be good for us. It’s exciting. He’s been out for a while. I like the way the team competed without him and with him coming back it’s going to make us even better.”
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said he had no expectations for Lowry, who was fourth in the NBA in made threes per game before the all-star break, while averaging 22.8 points a game and dishing 6.9 assists.
“Just to get a rhythm and feel for everybody else; everybody else to get a feel for him,” he said. “I think that’s important. I’m not looking at numbers or the amount of time or anything. Just to get a feel [for] getting his game legs back and his game conditioning back, that’s important. He has been working his behind off, off the court but it’s totally different once you go up against different-coloured jerseys. That’s going to be the whole goal, is making sure he gets his rhythm, other players get their rhythm with him because some of the new guys haven’t played with him before. So this will be a good test to do that at both ends of the floor.”
As recently as Monday Lowry seemed uncertain about when he might return, making no guarantees about being back before the playoffs.
Two days later he took the floor and the Raptors and their fans finally get a chance to see what their full team looks like.
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