LIFE WITHOUT LOWRY

Kyle Lowry

All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry is set to have surgery to remove loose bodies from his right wrist. This surgery will keep Lowry out for the remainder of the regular season. The Raptors are optimistic that Lowry will be able to return in time for the playoffs. He's having a career year averaging 22.8ppg, 6.9apg while shooting 46% from the field and 41% from deep. Toronto is currently third in the Eastern Conference standings and many expect them to slip with Lowry being out for an extended period of time.

I do believe the Raptors will struggle to a degree without Lowry, but there's another All-Star on that team having a career year himself. DeMar Derozan showed last night why the Raptors might be just fine until Lowry's return. Derozan scored a game high 37 points against the Knicks while making the game winning jumper with 1.9 seconds left. It's going to take a collective effort from the entire team for the Raptors to maintain their position in the standings. Backup point guard Cory Joseph's role expands with this injury as he replaces Lowry in the starting lineup. Additions such as Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker will help the Raptors in multiple ways. Ibaka will bring much needed rebounding and scoring while giving them a rim protector. Tucker is one of those guys who brings defense, energy and toughness to the table.

There's a similar situation happening in Cleveland with Kevin Love missing the rest of the regular season as well. These two teams met last year in the Eastern Conference Finals with the Cavs winning in six games. If Lowry can return to full health for the playoffs the Raptors are capable of making another deep run. The Celtics are sitting second in the East as of now but have lost three of their last four games. One of those losses coming to Toronto without Lowry.

I wouldn't press the panic button on these Raptors. Sometimes an injury like this can bring a team closer together and impact their play on the court in a positive way. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Toronto was still a top three seed at the end of the regular season. They will be depending heavily on Derozan who can put himself into the MVP conversation if he continues to play at a high level.