Kyle Lowry has his own way of dealing with the endless parade of elite point guard battles he finds himself in basically every night.
Rather than getting caught up in the emotion of trying to outplay another All-Star, he’s concentrating solely on his game. As he put it recently before a matchup with Atlanta All-Star Jeff Teague, Lowry is just “staying in his lane.”
It appears to be working for the Toronto Raptors’ leader and star. It certainly worked against Teague and the Hawks. Lowry torched the Hawks for 22 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter as he rallied his team from 17 points down for a huge 96-86 road win Wednesday night.
It’s the best Raptors coach Dwane Casey said he’s seen Lowry in that situation.
“The thing about Kyle is he’s so quick and he’s so strong,” Casey said. “People forget about that and he goes in their and drives into the bodies of the big guys and initiates contact. He’s almost like a little mouse, he gets in there and finds a hole and just gets through there.
“He does a great job with that and he knows when to do it, how to do it and exactly where the defense is coming from. And having Corey (Joseph) in there with him at that time helps him because it takes him off of handling the ball all the time and allows him to attack from different angles.”
Lowry has done any and everything the Raptors have needed him to this season. He’s scored in double figures in every game, including 12 games with 20 or more points. He is second on the team in scoring (21.0), but leads them in assists (6.2) and steals (2.7). He’s shooting a career-best 40.4 percent from 3-point range and he’s reshaped his body, shedding some 15 to 20 pounds, which has made him quicker than usual.
“I have to get my work in because it’s a challenge every night,” Lowry said as he was headed out of the locker room for his pregame routine Wednesday night. “I had Eric Bledsoe the other night, Teague tonight, the rookie [Emmanuel] Mudiay Thursday night and then Steph [Curry] Saturday night. That’s just this week. Every night it’s somebody else on the other side capable of embarrassing you if you’re not on point.
“But personally, I stay in my own lane. I enjoy watching all of these other guys play and I make sure that I can compete at the same level they’re all competing at, but at the end of the day I have to stay in my own lane and worry about my team and doing what I need to do be a leader and help us win games.”
That hasn’t been a problem for the Raptors this season. They are leading the Atlantic Division and feeding off of Lowry’s relentless energy and leadership, on and off the court.
Lowry said he came back this season focused and in shape both mentally and physically for the challenges he knows he’ll have to deal with all season.
“You have to respect the position you are in, respect your opponents and the work guys are putting in to be the best at what they do,” Lowry said. “We’re all dogs out here, trying to get to the same thing and it’s pretty incredible when you look at the lineups every night and see who you are going up against. You have to respect the craft. You do that, and you’ll be fine.”
They Raptors will be fine this season, as long as they stay in Lowry’s lane.
The Top 10 in this week’s KIA Race to the MVP Ladder:
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Last week’s ranking: No. 1
On the night the Charlotte Hornets honored his father, Dell Curry, Stephen Curry turned the “Hive” into his hometown playground, going off for 40 points (including 28 in a scintillating third-quarter showcase). The Warriors’ record-setting start to the season stands at a mind-boggling 20-0 heading into a Saturday afternoon visit to Toronto (5 ET, NBA League Pass) followed by a Sunday evening visit to Brooklyn (6 ET, NBA League Pass) and Tuesday night’s showdown in Indianapolis (7 ET, NBA League Pass). As brilliant as Curry — the Kia Western Conference Player of the Month — has been this season, the Warriors’ setting the NBA record for victory margin (15.4) through the first 20 games of a season might be even more impressive.
2. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Last week’s ranking: No. 4
After draining a career-high seven (of nine) shots from beyond the 3-point line in Thursday’s win in Memphis, Leonard took over the top spot in shooting from that distance at 50 percent (39-for-78). Not bad for a guy coach Gregg Popovich didn’t even know could shoot it from deep when Leonard arrived in San Antonio. His rise this season as an offensive machine has been nothing short of phenomenal. And like all great scorers, nothing will deter him. He had a rare off shooting night (3-for-12) Wednesday against Milwaukee and saw his streak of 20-point games end at five, only to bounce back and shred the Grizzlies for 27 points.
3. Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Last week’s ranking: No. 6
George finally looked like a mere mortal against Portland Thursday night, scoring a season-low 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting (including nine missed 3-pointers) as the Pacers’ six-game win streak ended. This after four straight games of scoring 30 or more points. His one bad night doesn’t change the fact that his start to this season earned him Kia Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors for October and November (after leading the Pacers to wins in 11 of 13 games after an 0-3 start). There is no debating it, George has returned from an injury-sacked 2014-15 season in spectacular fashion.
4. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Last week’s ranking: No. 2
LeBron did everything he could (24 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal) to try and slow down the Washington Wizards but it wasn’t enough to keep the Cavaliers from getting blitzed Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. His nine turnovers certainly didn’t help matters. There’s no doubt the Cavaliers are at their best when LeBron is controlling the action, even when Kyrie Irving is healthy and in the lineup. But they were exposed a bit by the speedy Wizards and seemed a step slow the entire night. Maybe all of that barking he’s been doing early on this season has merit.
5. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Watching Westbrook in HD just doesn’t do the Thunder’s flash of a point guard justice. You have to see him in the flesh to truly appreciate why he is such an unstoppable force of nature. He scored 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting in nine-minute stretch of the fourth quarter of a loss to the Hawks Monday that deserves its own highlight special. Still, as well as Westbrook is playing this season, the Thunder still haven’t found a consistent rhythm under new coach Billy Donovan. They lost back-to-back tight games in Atlanta and Miami (Thursday night on TNT) even with all of Westbrook’s heavy lifting.
6. Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
Last week’s ranking: No. 7
Butler is logging monster minutes (38.8 over the past five games) and carrying a heavy burden on both ends of the floor while the other half of the Bulls’ dynamic backcourt duo (Derrick Rose) struggles to find his rhythm. Butler is up to the task, of course. But the heavy minutes weren’t supposed to be a part of the equation with coach Tom Thibodeau being replaced by Fred Hoiberg. The Bulls cannot afford to wear Butler down this early in the season, not with the Eastern Conference as improved as it is and playoff positioning as critical as ever.
7. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Last week’s ranking: No. 9
Durant is making more headlines for what he says these days rather than for his play. His defense of Kobe Bryant and the way Durant believes the media is treating the retiring superstar was as noble as it was unnecessary. And truth be told, the Thunder need Durant’s sole focus right now as they continue to sort out their chemistry issues. A second straight loss, Thursday night in Miami, highlighted the good and bad. Durant matched Westbrook’s 25 points, but they both missed 3-pointers in the final seconds that could have changed the outcome.
8. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptos (10)
Last week’s ranking: 10
Lowry and the Raptors have been on a tear of late, winning five of their last seven games with their rugged All-Star point guard leading the way. They split road games at Atlanta (Wednesday) and Denver (Thursday) with Lowry shredding the Hawks late in a comeback win. He scored 22 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, playing through an upset stomach after halftime to lead the Raptors back from a 17-point deficit. He couldn’t find the mark in the 106-105 loss to the Nuggets, connecting on just 4 of his 16 shots and finishing with 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
9. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Last week’s ranking: 6
With Chris Paul out and J.J. Redick going out in the first minute of Wednesday’s game against the Pacers, Griffin should have been the catalyst for the Clippers. Instead, he shot just 6-for-18 from the floor and suffered through his first sub-20-point scoring effort in five games. Griffin hasn’t been rebounding (7.6 in his past five games) at an elite power forward clip and it’s hurting his game and the Clippers’ bottom line. They are at their best when Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are exploiting their mismatches against opposing big men. Right now, that’s not happening on a consistent basis for Los Angeles.
10. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (NR)
Last week’s ranking: Not ranked
His 360-dance move in response to a C.J. McCollum crossover aside, Nowitzki is not showing the signs of age that some of his future Hall of Fame contemporaries around the league are this season. He’s leading a better-than-expected Mavericks team in scoring (17.5) while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 44.6 from 3-point range, all while playing 30.1 minutes per night. He dialed up a throwback game in Tuesday’s overtime win over Portland, finishing with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block, after being held under 15 points in five straight games.
Others Receiving Consideration: Chris Bosh, Miami Heat; Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons; Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans; DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings; Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Sekou Smith is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
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