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Kyle Lowry is the Raptors' secret superstar

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was effusive in his praise for point guard Kyle Lowry on Wednesday.

And why not? Lowry poured in a game-high 27 points and outplayed LeBron James down the stretch to earn a thrilling 103-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"(Lowry) carried us," Casey told the Toronto Sun. "He did a good job of closing it out, he kept the pace, he kept the tempo after stops."

The All-Star's full arsenal was on display against Cleveland. The pull-up jumpers around screens, the shifty drives to the hoop, the pin-point passes to teammates after being double-teamed - that's the Lowry fans have come to know and love.

Equally impressive were Lowry's diving efforts to secure two loose balls, and DeMar DeRozan said his hustle inspires the rest of the team.

"When you see your best player going on the floor diving for the ball, it makes the other four guys out there thinking we have to do something extreme as well to keep this going," DeRozan said.

It may surprise some to learn that ESPN's Real Plus-Minus metric ranks Lowry as the third most impactful player in the league this season (he's also third in Win Shares and Value Over Replacement Player). Lowry's not quite that quality of player, but it's hardly an aberration - it speaks to how well Lowry's played.

He's averaging 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 2.8 steal while shooting 40.4 percent from deep, and the Raptors are outscoring opponents by nine points per 100 possessions with Lowry on the court.

Losing weight during the offseason has also allowed Lowry to find his range. He ranks among the league's elite in spot-up shooting.

Those metrics, however, come as little surprise to Raptors fans.

After all, it was Lowry who single-handedly changed the Raptors' fate by sparking a miraculous turnaround after the Rudy Gay trade in 2013. Gay was supposed to be the first in a series of veteran-for-youth trades, but Lowry inherited the team in Gay's absence and led the Raptors to a 42-22 finish over the remainder of the season.

Toronto, however, is walking a fine line: Leaning heavily on Lowry gets wins, but it risks him getting overworked. A back injury and a prolonged absence from DeRozan rendered Lowry a mere mortal for the second half of last season.

The Raptors' record mirrored Lowry's performance. In 2014, when Lowry was at his peak, the team went 58-27 across parts of two seasons. In 2015, when he struggled, the Raptors were only 25-25.

Statistic 2014 2015
GP 82 38
PPG 19.8 15.3
APG 7.6 6.0
RPG 4.9 4.6
TS% 56.5 49.0
USG% 25.3 23.5

So far, it's been smooth sailing for the Raptors. The team sits at 10-6 despite playing a brutal road-heavy schedule and ranks in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

This tracks back to Lowry. He's played much better in part because he dramatically reshaped his body in the offseason. He still isn't anywhere near the quickest, the most explosive, nor the most powerful player, but he's rediscovered his form by carefully harnessing his signature brand of controlled chaos within his 6-foot frame.

"I want to be special," Lowry told Stack's Jordan Zirm this summer. "At the end of the day it's all about me and how I feel and what I can provide for my team and my family."

That's exactly what Lowry's been for his team this season. He's been a special player.

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