The Toronto Raptors have gotten by without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry since late February when he had loose bodies removed from his right wrist. Toronto has gone 14-6 during that stretch, including wins in nine of their last 11 games. As the playoffs near, the hope was Lowry would get back in action before that. However, as Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun reports, Lowry isn’t beholden to any particular timeline:
Lowry has not played for the Raptors since Feb. 15, the final day before the league broke for the all-star break. He underwent surgery on Feb. 28th in New York. At the time of the surgery Lowry was told it would be a 4-6 week period of recovery.
But neither he nor his head coach had any intention of letting anyone in the media, or by extension the Raptors fan base, know exactly what the plan is for his return.
Lowry said the call, when it is made, will be made by him.
“It will be me, Kyle Lowry, who is going to clear me,” Lowry said.
Lowry admits not being able to play has left him bored, although he says he’s enjoying all the winning the team is doing without him.
“I’m really enjoying how well we’re playing,” he said. “It’s fun being out there and seeing how guys are going out there and getting it done. Wanting to be a part of it — it’s something I want to be a part of. It’s boring because I want to play, but it’s awesome because I see those guys going out there and being professionals and getting wins.”
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Casey, for his part, made it very clear that updating the media (and by extension the paying public) is not something he will spend his time doing.
“I’m not going to go into a daily ‘When is Kyle coming back’ (interrogation),” Casey said. “This is about the Toronto Raptors, us getting ready for the next game and if you have questions about that, then that’s fine. But all the other questions I’m not going to get into specifics about when is Kyle coming back, when he’s not coming back, what did he do today, did he use the bathroom this morning, did he have breakfast this morning — no, I’m not getting into all that.”
When it was pointed out that perhaps Lowry’s much anticipated return is worthy of frequent updates, Casey disagreed.
“(Tuesday) night what is relevant for me are the Indiana Pacers,” Casey said. “I totally, respectfully disagree. To (media types) it is relevant. To us it’s relevant when he does come back. But I’m not waking up every day wondering if this is the day Kyle comes back … and I don’t think his teammates are either. I think they are looking forward to the next challenge. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on Kyle or the team or whatever. I think the pressure should be on us getting ready for the Indiana Pacers.”
Lowry will not be rushed. He made that very clear in the eight minutes he spoke with the media.
He feels no urgency to get back in the lineup to forge some chemistry with the new Raptors in Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker because he feels that will take care of itself.
“You could step on the court and play with Ibaka and Tucker?” Lowry is asked. “Yeah. They joined the team when I was here. They can figure it out. We can figure it out.”
When asked if that figuring out would take some time, Lowry shook his head from side to side.
“It ain’t going to take no time to figure it out,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m coming back, and they will adjust. They will adjust.”
