Hardwood Highlight of the Night: Lowry's drive leads to Ross's 3-pointer
The Toronto Raptors are off to their best start in franchise history with a record of 18-6 heading into Monday's contest against the Orlando Magic.
Much of the credit goes to Kyle Lowry, who has played at an All-NBA level this season. His per-game averages of 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists only scratch the surface of Lowry's dominance.
A peek into the advanced stats lends more insight into Lowry's play. His PER clocks in at 22.9 and Lowry ranks sixth in total win shares, ahead of players like Marc Gasol and LeBron James.
But Lowry's importance can only truly be understood from watching his all-around performance night in and night out. He's the team's most valuable player to date, galvanizing the squad whenever necessary.
Take the play below, for example. It starts with Lowry snagging an offensive rebound (despite barely standing at six feet). The loose ball situation caused the Magic to be out of position defensively, something Lowry takes full advantage of. He immediately pulls the ball back out to the perimeter, drawing out Magic center Channing Frye.
The Magic eventually realize the mismatch and try to switch swingman Tobias Harris in place of Frye. The switch is dangerous, given Lowry's proficiency from deep, but Amir Johnson isn't much of a shooter down low, so it's a worthwhile gamble.
Lowry, being alert, realizes this opportunity, and attacks while he has the chance. As a result, the Magic are caught out of position once more, and Frye ends up unintentionally screening his teammate.
Once Lowry gets into the paint, the Magic are stuck with just Nikola Vucevic guarding the paint against an incoming attacker, and two bigs pinching on the baseline. The numbers advantage forces the Magic into sending help in the form of Ben Gordon.
The help, however, was exactly what Lowry was counting on. Having drawn the entire Magic defense into the paint, Lowry finds Terrence Ross wide open on the wing for an easy triple.
The play can be seen in its entirety below.
(courtesy: TSN, NBA)