Lowry’s revitalization evident in his resurgent rebounding prowess

Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (Christopher Katsarov/AP)

Kyle Lowry’s minutes are down, but it would seem his energy is back up and his numbers too.

Over the next couple of weeks his minutes are going to be down even more, of course that’s because the Toronto Raptors herky-jerky early-season schedule has now blessed them with what looks like a vast sea of downtime in between games.

But it’s hard to imagine Lowry playing a more energized style than he has recently.

After a slow start, his play has rebounded – literally, but more on that in a minute – as Lowry became the first player listed under six-foot-1 in 20 years to grab 10 or more rebounds in three straight games by snaring a career-high 13 boards against the Atlanta Hawks in the Raptors blowout win on Saturday night.

The road win came in their 12th road game in 19 games – tied for the most road starts in the NBA so far. After returning to Toronto from a mildly confounding 1-2 swing through the Eastern Conference the Raptors, 12-7, can now luxuriate in perhaps the softest stretch on their schedule – a span of 12 days with three games, all at home, which should make for plenty of practice time to iron out wrinkles that have emerged to this stage.

It’s also the start of a 20-game span – beginning with their blowout win over the hapless Hawks on Saturday – where they only play six games against teams with winning records and none against a team with a winning percentage better than their own .632 mark.

Time to make some hay, in other words.

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They should be in position to do that in part because it’s clear that Lowry is closing in on peak form as he bounces back from a sluggish start that seemed to confound him as much as anyone else.

He’s playing just 32 minutes a game so far – down substantially from the 37.4 he averaged last season. Lowry has averaged just 69 games per season the past three years, with injuries and some last-season slides in productivity encouraging the Raptors to make a point of pulling back on his minutes as he enters into his age-31 season with a three-year, $100-million contract in hand.

So far so good.

“It’s something we’ve been working on,” said Lowry as the Raptors gathered for the first of what will be many practices days at the BioSteel Centre over the next 12 days. “We talked about it the last three years. Now we’re doing it this year. We’re deeper. Our depth in the backcourt is really good [and], for me, I’m kind of finding my rhythm now. I’m starting to play a lot better.”

There are all kinds of encouraging signs to his play. Over his last 10 games he’s averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 assists per game while shooting a robust 43.6 per cent from three on nearly eight attempts per contest.

But the most remarkable number that may point to a fresh and energized Lowry has been his rebounding totals.

Over the last 10 games he’s averaging 7.5 rebounds a game – a stunning number for a guard and even more for one who barely stands six feet and may or may not be able to dunk any more. He’s grabbed 10, 10 and 13 rebounds in his past three games alone, leading the Raptors each night and leaving him tied for 12th in the NBA over that stretch with six-foot-seven Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball the only guard with more.

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Lowry has always been an outstanding rebounder for his size, averaging 4.8 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career. According to Basketball-Reference.com, since 1970 no player listed at six-feet or less has averaged more on a per-minute basis.

But in his early 30s Lowry is surpassing even his own prodigious marks. Should Lowry somehow grab 6.3 rebounds per game for the season – his current average – it would be the second most for a small guard in NBA history, surpassed only by Guy Rogers’ 6.5 rebounds a game in 1960-61.

But it has to be noted: the Philadelphia 76ers guard played 37 minutes a game and NBA teams averaged 109.4 shots per game and made just 41.5 per cent of them, as compared with 85.5 shots and 45.5 per cent today. There were way more rebounds to get.

Put another way, Lowry is on pace to grab 11.5 per cent of the available rebounds when he’s on the floor this season which would smash the previous rebound percentage record of 9.5 per cent set in 2012-13 by none other than Lowry himself, although rebounding percentages can only be tracked back to the 1966-67 season on Basketball-Reference.

But it’s almost certain Lowry is having the best rebounding season ever for any NBA player six-foot-two or under. It’s not until you get to players listed at six-foot-three that Lowry gets pushed down the list, and even then it’s only by some of the most athletic guards in NBA history: Russell Westbrook (who grabbed 17.1 per cent of the available rebounds on his way to averaging his historic triple double last year), Fat Lever, Sydney Moncrief and Alvin Robertson are the others.

How the hell?

“He’s smart, he anticipates, and his competitiveness,” says Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “Another guy he reminds me of is [former Sonics great] Gary Payton, where if a ball’s in a scrum, Kyle’s gonna come out with it, or Gary Payton’s gonna come out with it. It’s just something about those guys that have a nose and a knack for the 50-50 balls. And that’s a huge skill to have, and Kyle’s toughness, his competitiveness, his anticipation, all those help him in those situations. It’s huge.”

Watching closely is Lowry’s understudy, Fred VanVleet, who is an impressive rebounder himself given he might be five-foot-10 and is averaging 4.4 rebounds per 36 minutes so far in his career.

“It’s whatever’s in your chest, to be honest,” says VanVleet. “Whatever you’ve got inside your heart that makes you want to go down there and get them. I think our bigs have been having a job to battle and box out and rebound for position so Kyle’s been down there to clean them up.

“I’m not sure the bigs are so happy with Kyle taking all their rebounds but it’s a team effort. I’m not sure you could get all those [rebounds] if they weren’t fighting with each other down there.

“… But you have to stick your nose in there, too. I think Kyle stole two away – back-to-back games, Indiana and Atlanta – from bigger guys where he just wanted it more. That’s all it boils down to.”

Lowry allows that having fresh legs might have an impact.

“I feel a little bit fresher,” he says. “Just being able to go out and play. That’s a testament to what our organization has done in bringing in more players.”

Lowry’s rebounding allows the Raptors to run more as well – one reason, perhaps, the team’s averaging 97.5 possessions a game, the most they ever have under Casey.

“I have the chance to have the ball in my hand, not have to wait for it,” Lowry said. “That’s an extra two seconds with the ball in my hands. Given the chance to go and make the play and outlet and not have to wait for it and turn my back. I just catch, go and see what’s happening.

“… I’d have to see the numbers, but I think it gives us a better chance to get the ball ahead and attack in transition.”

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