Lowry shouldn't be our franchise player, but he is. Are we so sure that Chuck Hayes wasn't a more effective player than Luis last year? Am I the only one that liked the Patrick/Chuck lineup more? Out of all our horrible defenders, Luis was probably the worst. He certainly has a nutsack on him though... Kevin Martin is an efficient nancy boy...
Lowry is not a franchise player, just the closest thing that the Rockets have for a franchise player. He certainly impacts our team like one. Luis is good, but old. K-Martin is a scorer and that is it. Is it me, or does Lowry always seem to be the one the take the last shot when the clock is winding down.
Exactly... If we did have a franchise player, we would have some damn scary roleplayers in those 3...
Here is an article about Lowry http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/09/17/vegas.league.all.stars/ I think these are Lowry's numbers 20/20 game (boxscore) 25/15 game (this writer 56 pts game (twitter) 49 pts game (this writer)
Kyle Lowry is certainly the heart, brain, and backbone of the franchise, if not the face as well. The franchise, for its part, never misses an opportunity to increase their investment in him. And why would it? Lowry has earned his leadership role by earning every role he took along the way, from third-string trade fodder to playing the most minutes on the team. Morey has hedged his bets on every position except PG, where he's doubled-down on lucky #7. That bet has paid off; it's still paying off; it will likely continue to pay off for some time. Kyle Lowry, I think I'm in love with you.
Who do you propose is the face of our current Rockets then? K-mart who is an atrocious defender? Scola, who is also an atrocious defender (although a good hustler)? The most complete player, and the player that we want all our rookies to learn from, is most definitely Lowry. Lowry is not "very replaceable", no way. The only other PGs that I would replace Lowry for are all-star level PGs or lottery pick PGs that have shown potential. Heck, if we were to trade Lowry for Jennings, I would be reluctant to do it. Give Lowry the credit he deserves, he earned the spot that he is in today.
Clearly better Paul Williams DRose A bit better Westbrook Rondo Worse but has more value Wall Reke PG, possibly better, but won't trade for straight up due to value/age/contract Nash Parker Kidd Curry
Had John Wall put up 56pts/8ast in one game over there, I'd bet he would have his own mixtape for the whole game. But there's some short highlights of Lowry's at the Vegas league about halfway through the video below(1:47 mark). Vid shows him flexing after a making a tough layup and him doing a nice up and under, off the glass layup. Trying his best mini Tmac impersonation. <iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/hss2gtOTcAI.html" width="480" height="290" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#hss2gtOTcAI" style="display:none"></embed>
I would propose that no single player is the face of the franchise. When outsiders look at the Rockets, they don't see or think about one particular player. For good or bad, we win and lose as a team. A case can easily be made for Lowry being our most important player, or the player most valued by the front office. But I wouldn't call him the "face" of the franchise. Not yet, anyway.
I attribute the most important player as the face of the franchise, or at least the person that leads the team, but I don't think that matters much. What does matter, is that we both agree that Lowry is easily our most important player, and not as some just said "easily replaceable".
1st half report, if anyone cares . Lowry's team (with Maggette, Speights, Dudley, Daye) up on opposing team (Billips, Kenyon, Forbes, Samuels, etc) 59 47. Gym announcer calls Lowry "'Kyle Landry" for some reason. Speights shooting long Js and 3s. He considers himself a shooter. Lowry not looking for his shot much but pretty efficient.
