Kyle Lowry’s Top 5 Plays As A Rocket

Toronto pulled off another move in this offseason — this one was easily its best, unlike other puzzling agreements — by getting Kyle Lowry from Houston for a first-round pick and Gary Forbes. The sixth-year vet played the last three and a half seasons in Houston, where he developed into one of the league’s most improved players. His scoring average rose from 9.1 points in 2009-10 to a career-high 14.1 last season, and he added a career-high 4.6 rebounds and nearly tied his assists mark with 6.6 per. Lowry was not a flashy guard, but he did produce some sneaky good plays in his time. What better time to look at them than the day he’s sent out of town?

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5. Trapped baseline? Not so fast. Lowry treats the baseline not so much as another defender as a bumper in bowling, spinning through three (future teammate) Raptors for the easy bucket.

Honorable mention goes to this other spin move he pulled. This time it was in the open court and, impressively, fooled spin master Tony Parker.


4. Let’s be honest: A Kyle Lowry to Kevin Martin alley-oop is not going to get as much love as say, almost any other oop connection highlight. The names just aren’t flashy enough. That doesn’t mean it’s a hell of a pass to make from 30 feet out.


3. This is a crazy sequence from Lowry, who should never have had the ball in his hands to sink a 40-foot three to beat the buzzer. But before he sinks the buzzer-beater, he strips Tony Parker (he’s just getting beaten all over this Top 5 so far) to start his own play off.


2. Do you think of Lowry as necessarily a creator? I don’t, but he’ll surprise with his penetration in the lane before finding his shot. Even better, on this play against Atlanta, is how he sucks in a defender for the dump off dime to Jordan Hill.



1. Jannero Pargo never had a chance with Lowry timing this like a Swiss watchmaker. Pargo got 10 feet ahead of Lowry off a steal but the dunk attempt was voided faster than a lost credit card. The sprint is impressive to make up the ground, but so is the leap that gets his back to the rim for the rejection. Funny enough, No. 1 and No. 2 of Lowry’s best Rocket plays came in the same game last New Year’s Eve.

What do you think of the trade?

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