No second half slump for Lowry this year; Biyombo sparks Raptors as coaching staff bounces back too

Singular talent in professional team sports is most important in the NBA.
Don’t believe it, look at the list of champions since 1980. How many didn’t employ one of the 15 best players ever? Assuming the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Julius Erving and even Stephen Curry are there with the rest, you’ve got the 2004 Detroit Pistons. That’s the list.
Kyle Lowry isn’t a top 15 player ever, of course, but he’s one of the 10 best currently in the NBA (first in steals, sixth in made three-pointers, fifth in win shares, fourth in value over replacement player, etc.) and the Brooklyn Nets don’t have anyone close to his level. Hence, why the Raptors could wipe out a 16-point third quarter deficit on Tuesday night.
After one of his worst opening two quarters of the year, Lowry was incredible. He had 17 points, six assists and went +21 in the second half, some of it spent beside Cory Joseph. Joseph’s contribution didn’t really show up on the stat-sheet, but he gave the Raptors good minutes as well.
Based on what happened last year, there was valid concern about Lowry tailing off, but he’s gone the other way, getting better since the all-star break.
In the nine games since: 25.7 points, 7.8 assists, .547 from the field, .431 on three-pointers (all way up) and fewer turnovers and fouls per game. He’s been spectacular.
GOOD MOVES
This corner was justifiably hard on Dwane Casey and his staff after a poor tactical performance against Houston, so we’ll also point out that Tuesday was filled with excellent calls.
Starting Jason Thompson and Norman Powell didn’t work early on (nothing did, really), but both were strong during the third quarter rally. Powell only had three rebounds, but was in the mix on the glass all night and defended better. Obviously whatever Casey said at the half got through to the team and sitting down a truly awful Jonas Valanciunas (not a stretch to say this was one of the worst efforts of his career) in favour of Bismack Biyombo turned the game around. Biyombo’s energy and effort level sparked the team and gave Lowry, who also has a non-stop motor, a running mate.
Biyombo was actually off the first time he entered the game, but really rallied. That wasn’t the case with Valanciunas, who has shown some troubling signs lately. His defence has regressed noticeably, he appeared stuck in second gear all night and he didn’t even rebound, which is usually the one constant to his game. Expect a lot of Patrick Patterson/DeMarre Carroll small-ball combinations in the playoffs. The question is, if Lowry and Joseph are in the backcourt with DeMAr DeRozan shifting to small forward in that scenario, will the Raptors be big enough? Not against the Bulls or Cavs, most likely, but probably against other squads.
And to head off the questions now: No, we don’t know when Carroll will be back, but if he keeps at this pace, Easter Weekend seems like a good guess.
AROUND THE RIM
Seven blocks from Brook Lopez? That shouldn’t happen. Lopez was awesome defending the rim, forcing nine misses on 15 attempts. Toronto went 10-for-14 at the rim against the other Nets. … Thompson’s always been a good mid-range shooter and it appears he’s been working on extending his range. If he can hit threes consistently, he’ll stick around and be quite useful for more years than many anticipated, even if it’s on another team … Toronto is now 10-1 against the Atlantic Division … Toronto set a new franchise record with its 28th straight win when holding opponents under 100 points. Brooklyn had 58 points at the half and 80 after three quarters, so not getting to 100 indicated how much Toronto’s defensive effort changed during the latter stages of the game, though the Nets still shot over 50%. Opponents have shot 45% or higher in a season-worst seven straight.