Strengths: Kyle Lowry’s game is all about explosiveness. Certain point guards have that electric ability to do something special every time they put the ball on the floor, and Lowry belongs in that category. Thick-bodied and physical, Lowry embodies that tough Villanova mentality we saw all season long, and is probably the most athletically imposing point guard in the 2006 draft. Simply put, Lowry is a blur on the court. His pure speed makes him a threat to create a fast break basket in the blink of an eye, and he generally makes good decisions in the open court. He pushes the ball relentlessly at every opportunity, seeming to pick up steam when other players begin to tire. His first step sticks out even at the NBA level, as very few point guards anywhere are as dangerous as Lowry off the dribble. It doesn’t take much of an opening for Lowry to get to the basket, even with defenders usually daring him to beat them with his jumper. He will cross defenders over, slash to the basket, or pull up for the occasional midrange jumper in traffic. Lowry’s strength is a major advantage here, as he has no problem powering through a bit of body contact on the way to the basket. Lowry’s explosiveness is even more evident on the defensive end, where is capable of changing a game at the drop of a hat with his brutal on-the-ball pressure defense. Villanova’s vaunted 4-guard lineup was known for its suffocating fullcourt defense, and while Randy Foye and Allan Ray might have been the big-time scorers, Lowry was the catalyst on the defensive end. An opposing point guard’s worst nightmare, Lowry never stops pressuring the basketball. He has lightning quick hands and feet, and that thick frame perfect for getting physical with already overmatched lead guards. Lowry seems to relish playing the aggressor on the defensive end, and shows great anticipation skills any time an opponent starts to get lazy passing the ball. He led the Big East in steals as a sophomore, and given Lowry’s ability to handle the ball and get down the court, many of those steals resulted in two points before the opposition even had a chance to react. As a point guard, Lowry has received plenty of help in his two seasons at Villanova, but took over as Jay Wright’s primary floor general as a sophomore. Flawless as a dribbler, Lowry has excellent court vision and does a good job of moving the ball within the offense. Very rarely does he make a pass that isn’t productive in some way. He improved his Ast/TO ratio substantially this season, finishing at a respectable 1.7-to-1. When things are clicking for him, there are times when Lowry can take over as a fullcourt ballhandler, breaking presses by himself, making lightning quick decisions and creating for his teammates effortlessly. Lowry uses his physical nature to his advantage around the basket. He rebounds very well for a smaller point guard (4.3 per game), and his ability to get off the floor quickly allows him to find success on the glass against much taller players. If one only saw his game-winning offensive rebound put back against Notre Dame this past season, they would never guess that Lowry is a 6’0 PG. Finally, special mention must be given to the way that Lowry plays the game. He had a bit of a hothead reputation coming out of high school, but Lowry has managed to filter out most of the negatives while keeping every bit of his fiery, aggressive on-court persona. He plays with unrivaled physicality and passion, and displays a relentlessness that many college-level guards really can’t prepare for. Every coach wants to have a KyleLowry-style guard in his backcourt. Weaknesses: While Lowry generally passes the look test as an NBA point guard prospect, questions still remain about his ability to control a game full-time. Lowry played a complementary role (at least offensively) to Randy Foye and Allen Ray in Jay Wright’s backcourt rotation, and while many have claimed that their presence was the only thing keeping Lowry from exploding into full-fledged stardom, they also unquestionably made things easier for him. How would Lowry have handled being a marked man next fall, with defenses now focused in on him instead of Foye and Ray? Would he be able to keep up the defensive intensity and stamina with his increased offensive role? Most believe that Lowry has the tools to play in the NBA, but he could prove it once and for all by returning to Villanova and leading the Wildcats back to the NCAA Touranment in that “go-to” role. Beyond this, Lowry’s biggest question mark at this point may be a suspect perimeter jumper. While his percentages look good, Lowry rarely attempted to score from the outside at Villanova. Part of this was due to the presence of three outstanding shooters in the Villanova lineup in Ray, Foye, and Nardi, but defenders didn’t feel compelled to guard Lowry’s jump shot most of the time, and Lowry rarely made them pay for it. His form has improved substantially from his freshman season, but Lowry still must that he can keep defenses honest on a consistent basis. There is a fine line between aggression and forcing the issue, and with Lowry’s mentality, he tends to toe it quite often. There are moments on both ends of the floor where Lowry will get a bit overeager, forcing a pass that really isn’t there, forcing the action off the dribble when nothing is there, or picking up silly perimeter touch fouls on the defensive end. These issues don’t appear to be crippling in the case of Lowry, but decision making issues have cropped up from time to time. As Lowry matures as a floor general, he will have to learn how to reign in his own attacking nature a bit better. There are also size issues with Lowry. While he supposedly grew an inch between his freshman and sophomore seasons and is now listed at a respectable 6’1, he doesn’t appear to be quite that tall. Lowry’s lack of size really hurts him right now, as he isn’t an outside threat and defenders are free to sag off and focus on altering his finishes at the rim. Proving himself as a jump shooter changes everything, but if Lowry measures in under 6’0, his stock could take a bit of a hit. Lowry tore his ACL headed into his freshman season at Villanova, but made a near-miraculous midseason return, ending up as the catalyst for the Wildcats’ sweet 16 run. NBA teams will certainly do their homework on the injury, though Lowry’s quick recovery would seem to indicate that there isn’t much to be concerned about. A certain buzz had developed around Lowry throughout the season, to the point where another big NCAA Tournament performance may have pushed his stock into the lottery. Unfortunately, just the opposite happened. Lowry shot the ball poorly, forced the issue offensively, and didn’t come through in clutch situations. Essentially, we are talking about the major question marks scouts have about his game coming to the forefront in the most important moments of the season. While Lowry’s NCAA Tournament performance doesn’t come close to erasing an outstanding sophomore season, it would be a very disappointing way for Lowry to end his college career, and Lowry may have to re-prove himself a bit in competitive situations.
You wrote that yourself, or you got that from somewhere? If the latter, please post the link. Thanks.
Heres the link: http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Kyle-Lowry-NBA-Draft-Scouting-Report-2870/ Sorry for not posting it up top.
I think the defense is the main reason we got Lowry. I like this trade, he's still young with a lot of upside.
He doesn't fit this system, hes more of a fast breaking type of point guard. We should of gotten JJ Reddick instead of Cook!
Expect Brooks to get the majority of the minutes and Lowry only gets around 15 to 20 minutes a night. Lowry is not here to replace Rafer. The trade was made to clear the PG spot for Aaron Brooks.
Strengths: Can get anywhere on the floor whenever he wants ... His heart and passion for the game put him on an elite level rarely seen in today's spoiled basketball players ... Rebounding ability is an unusual attribute for a 6-0 guard ... His ability to lock in and defend makes in special as well ... Extremely quick hands and feet, he is incredibly disruptive on the defensive end ...He plays so hard it is difficult to know where he is on the court at all times, just ask Raymond Felton who got all he wanted in the Sweet 16 last year ... His reputation as a winner is unparalleled and his will to win is as strong as they come ... Natural floor general with the ability to get players shots with his quick decision making ... Very physical, he's able to use his great body strength to overpower guards on both ends of the floor ... Weaknesses: His jumper off the dribble has been one of the few knocks to his game ... Must develop more cosnisistency on his outside shot ... At 6' foot he is a bit undersized, but plays much bigger ... Having come off a slight ACL tear last year his knee recovered faster than I have ever seen or heard a player come back from an injury like that and play productively that same year. So the strength of that knee will be something to watch throughout his career ... His temper and his ability to keep his emotions in check could prevent him from being a heady floor leader if he allows his emotions to get the best of him. from NBAdraft.net
We need Lowry's D to stop press other point guards full court. He's going to have a positive impact with minutes.
Neither was Rafer - at least not with any consistency. ....has everyone suddenly forgot that for every good shooting night Rafer had he had 5 bad shooting nights in their place including a few key possession 4th quarter bricks that ultimately lost us the game? I'll take Lowry's good defense and weak shot over Rafer's good defense and inconsistent shot because the kid is much much younger and could blossom into a very good player. Rafer was as good as he was going to get. At least Lowry is still young enough to mature into being smarter with the ball and improving his shooting.
He's unable to take the starting role from a 9 and 3 PG. That speaks volumes enough for me. Rafer couldn't shoot, but he was a key cog on our team. This was a downgrade, unless there's a bigger deal yet to be announced. Evan
All you need to read is his NBA 3 pt % no big deal of a trade we lose a steady point guard who can run the offense and score in streaks for a young player that might develop into the same kind of player or be a back up. This trade is just one way of letting AB have the job. Which is no splash at all.
Here's Hollinger's Breakdown: 2007-08 season: A hyperactive ball of energy who was essentially playing his first pro season, Lowry might have been an all-defense selection if anybody watched Grizzlies games. On a team for which a lot of players were going through the motions, his extra effort stood out. Lowry drew 47 offensive fouls, the fourth-most in the league; on a per-minute basis, the only perimeter player to draw more was the Lakers' Derek Fisher. Lowry's other defensive metrics were outstanding, too -- among point guards he was sixth in blocks per minute, 12th in steals and seventh in defensive rebound rate. Overall, the Grizzlies gave up 5.7 points fewer per 48 minutes with him on the court. The only reason he didn't play more was his shaky outside shot, combined with a refusal to acknowledge its shakiness. Lowry took nearly two 3-pointers a game but made only 25.7 percent, a major reason his shooting percentage was so low. He was much better on long 2s, making 44.8 percent, but they were a less-utilized part of his arsenal. Lowry also killed himself at the line. He led all point guards in free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt, but converted only 69.8 percent. Scouting report: Lowry is only 6-1, but has superb speed and quickness combined with incredible toughness; that combo is what makes him so willing to throw his body into the fray, draw charges, rebound and defend effectively. Lowry is a very hard driver going to the basket, especially to his right, and can use his jets to get past defenders and draw fouls. He has to improve as a passer and decision-maker, however, as his pure point rating was subpar and most of his drives seemed to be for his own offense. Lowry is good at advancing the ball in transition, throwing pinpoint alley-oops from midcourt and sending it ahead when shooters are free. Lowry can't shoot, as mentioned above, and teams constantly left him open and dared him to fire away. 2008-09 outlook: With Mike Conley and Javaris Crittenton also on hand, Lowry's name has come up frequently in trade rumors. Certainly other teams have interest, as he's already an elite defender and could become a quality offensive weapon if he can straighten out his shot and refine his half-court decision-making a bit. For now, however, he's probably going to be relegated to 20 minutes a night or so. Fantasy owners should keep an eye on this guy because if he's traded some place where he'll start he's going to be gold in steals. The rest of us can just sit back and watch him and Conley duke it out for the right to be the Grizz's point guard of the future.
I'm sorry but this Kyle Lowry isn't even starting and he's on the MEMPHIS! This trade DOES NOT make any sense. It's like the team is rebuilding with these ROOKIES.
Fantastic. Now we have two young, undersized guards. Lowry's percentages aren't much better than Alston's, to boot. And he won't be half the leader Rafer was. Wish Morey would have just left well enough alone.
