Hardwood Paroxysm - Will A Very Kyle Lowry December Turn Into A Very Kyle Lowry Year?

Hayesfan · Dec 30, 2011

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Previously famous for its wintry weather, December has become a month week of basketball revered in the minds of basketball fans. With that month shortened drastically due to basketball/money/pride/email reasons in 2011, games are both more frequent and sloppy. Amidst all of the unrefined but incredibly fun basketball we’ve already seen this year, a new point guard hero has awakened in the West. Some might argue this awakening happened last season, but its full realization appears imminent. This is December basketball. This is Kyle Lowry.

I don’t want it to seem like I’m delving into hyperbole and overreacting to small sample sizes, though I almost certainly am. But perceived improvement is easy to rave about, and in the early season, hope springs eternal. Kyle Lowry has more than earned that hope in the span of two games.

It’s hard to compare Kyle Lowry’s current play in the league to anyone not named Kyle Lowry. He’s always been a terrific defender, but never particularly distinguished himself offensively in a league full of strong offensive point guards. For a significant period of time, Lowry was simply known as the best backup point guard in the league, coming off the bench and providing blistering defense and a consistently acceptable all-around game. That role changed last year, likely for the long-term, as Lowry assumed the starting role and his rightful place in the hearts of bloggers everywhere. After the Rockets traded Aaron Brooks to the Suns, Lowry became a clear key staple to the Rockets’ ever-changing future. He claimed the job forcefully, continuing to play sterling defense and put up career-best averages of 13.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds, along with the second-best of his career (16.5) and an improved three-point percentage, an important facet in his continued offensive development.

An increasing thought I’ve been consumed by is the rise of great young point guards in the Western Conference. HP’s own Danny Chau discussed Ty Lawson’s emergence as a veritable efficiency Cloverfield monster, and Stephen Curry’s offensive repertoire is set to make the jump everyone expected it would last year. Kyle Lowry belongs in this group. Even as he assumes the leadership of a Rockets’ team uncertain of its own identity, Lowry stands to become the complete and varied player KLOE (Kyle Lowry Over Everything, as often mentioned by Zach Harper) supporters always thought he could be. He passes, he scores, he defends, and he wins over hearts and minds. That’s Kyle Lowry’s mantle to claim, and he possesses the tools to reach that level.

Kyle Lowry (now 25 years old) bears an unmatched responsibility comparatively to other young point guards, namely because how central he’ll be to his team’s success. The Rockets no longer play in your grandfather’s Western Conference (I don’t know how or why your grandfather would have his own Western Conference). There are no looming giants to deny the Rockets a playoff spot, and tangentially, a significant playoff run. This is a year of parity in the Western Conference. Other than the favorite Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that possesses weaknesses less exaggerated than other Western Conference teams, no other clear stalwart contenders exist. For once, there is no looming Lakers’ giant to inevitably lose to, the Mavericks may not be what they once were, the Blazers, much like the Nuggets, are very talented but without juggernaut capability, and the Clippers are certainly still a far cry from dominance. The opportunity exists for the Rockets, and other relatively young rosters, to assume a strong position in the indeterminable playoff race of a truncated season.

But without a breakout season from Kyle Lowry and the continuation (to a lesser extent) of what we’ve already seen, the Rockets’ experiment will likely finally die and the word “rebuild” will be floated often this offseason, after an incongruous failure of an easily beaten seventh (or eighth) seed Rockets (or simply no playoff berth at all). While this isn’t a top-heavy Western Conference, it certainly doesn’t lack depth. The Rockets must be wary of that depth.

Watching and enjoying the ascension of a once unlikely player and team is a beautiful thing. Lowry and the Rockets have the capability to make that final unlikely leap, to splash in the pond instead of flying above the playoff waters. Kyle Lowry can become a great player. This is clear every passing minute he defines his offensive abilities on the court. Can the Rockets become a great team? Maybe, maybe not. A rotation of Lowry, Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, Luis Scola, defensive stalwart Samuel Dalembert, Courtney Lee, an improving Terrence Williams, Patrick Patterson, Goran Dragic, and a possibly blooming Jordan Hill is nothing to be trifled with. It’s a team without a true star, but the same can be said for the Rockets’ fellow deeply talented squad, the Nuggets. Just as Ty Lawson appears ready to seize the reins of a team and offense, so does Kyle Lowry. If Lowry finally seizes those reins firmly and confidently, the Rockets will not be sent away easily in April and May. Rockets’ teams have the past have come and gone, easily replaced and re-stocked by clever GM Daryl Morey. The same could be said of this team by midseason. But, while fading into NBA oblivion is common, surprising an entire league is unique in itself. And what is Kyle Lowry if not unique?
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Hardwood Paroxysm - Will A Very Kyle Lowry December Turn Into A Very Kyle Lowry Year?

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