are you kidding, Lowry's better by leaps and bounds simply because Calderon is as garbage as it comes when it comes to the PG position in the NBA.
Neither has Calderon, except Lowry is just 26 and still has the potential to be that guy. Calderon never was that guy, and never will be. And at 31 years of age, it's doubtful he'll ever have the window Lowry has now. Calderon sucks. There, I said it. You mean, aside from last season? And of course this season, when he led all point guards in efficiency before his injury, and is still 8th among all point guards in efficiency, just below Jrue Holiday? Meaning there are 22 starting point guards in the NBA worse than him, and only 7 better? Sure thing buddy. I don't know what "outstanding" is supposed to mean outside the scope of these predispositions to hate Kyle Lowry regardless, but when most of the only people doing your job better are named things like Rondo and Paul, you're probably doing pretty well.
When players get injured...the players on the bench are supposed to not only increase their minutes...but their productivity...OP fails to realize that injuries happen, but its what those that are healthy do that matters and has more meaning... If you need any examples think of when Rafer went down with an ankle injury...no one would have really understood what Aaron Brooks brought to the table...Same with Yao going down...Chuck showed leadership in addition to excellent low post defense... Injuries are a time for players that are relatively unknown to make a name for themselves...Lowry's reserves arent outplaying him...they are just doing their jobs and everyone collectively had to increase their level of play to account for the loss of Lowry...
The fact that Jose Calderon raises his level of play just high enough during his contracts years to create these point guard controversies is not some sort of credit to him. In fact, it makes him a complete toolbag. For the record, the Raptors would probably be a better team with Jerryd Bayless starting. Or Jarrett Jack. But that organization had their shot with those players and wasn't smart enough to retain either, nestling their tired heads upon Jose Calderon's willing bosom once again. Jose Calderon is a trap the Raptors aren't strong enough to overcome. They deserve all he can give him, which if history is any guide, means nothing. Ever. No winning.
I don't think Lowry's being given a fair chance. He had to play with Bargnani and he was still developing chemistry with the rest of the team. Calderon's played with most of them before, so obviously he would be better at feeding them the ball. The Raptors are playing harder ever since Bargnani went down (whether to prove a point, I don't know), and it helps that their schedule got a lot easier.
Lowry is certainly better than Calderon. This isn't even close. Maybe, just maybe the Raptors corrected a few of their mistakes along the way, like some of their piss poor defensive rotations (http://s11.postimage.org/7ml3kzqyp/Unbenannt.png) for example and maybe... just maybe we shouldn't overrate the fact that they won 3 home games and one away game against no team of any significance. Never mind the fact that the Rockets have lost like a million games straight against the Raps at home. Wake me up when Calderon becomes a key contributer on team above .500.
I've been reading that Raptors board, and the vast majority haven't been drinking the Calderon Kool-Aid and are excited that Lowry will be returning to play without Bargnani. They view that as the best possible team right now: Lowry, Calderon, and DeRozan sharing backcourt minutes, with an assortment of non-Bargnanis in the frontcourt.
I haven't watched Calderon play very much - but from what I saw, he is a very very good mid range shooter when left open. Also quite capable of being a great passer as well. But just as a few people said on the board, he has terrible defense, and his motor is questionable, he doesn't have that winning leadership/attitude that can help lift or inspire a team. He seems passive.
But why are they reserves in the first place? Why don't they deserve a starting spot? My logic is because the starting guy is better. So in theory, reserves shouldn't put up starter's numbers when the starting guy gets injured because they aren't that good.
He's a good player, nothing more or less. Just accept that fact and leave alone. I never said he was a scrub or marginal starter, but I'm not going to pretend that he's an elite point guard or even a perennial all-star player.
That's what I am talking about right there, Calderon is a fairly decent NBA point guard, who could start in a few places, while Lowry is better and could start in more places. Has never had a season of averaging 15 ppg, 7 assists, and is poor mid-range shooter. Not a play-maker, like the other highly touted point guards. Most of all, he keeps losing starting jobs to other players and has shown a rather poor attitude, while doing it. Again, it's not hating on Lowry, but more about pointing out what he is ... an above-average NBA starting point guard.
That's fine. Here are some numbers for context: Kyle Lowry is a top 10 starting point guard in the NBA. He is 8th in efficiency at the position. (Before we go much further, please note that efficiency and shooting percentages are not the same thing.) We don't need to pretend that's the case, we can demonstrate it objectively. One website copy-paste, boom, we're there. We can hem and haw about whether efficiency ratings properly encapsulate what it means to run the point in the NBA...I guess...but by this general metric we have available, he is the 8th best point guard in the NBA. Before you get bent out of shape, remember that there are by definition 30 starting point guards in the NBA, and he's in the top third of that group, and that only about 5 of those 10 are what most people would even consider "elite." Statistically, Lowry is in no man's land between good and elite. Some people find the phrase "fringe all-star" useful to describe a player like that. So with all that in mind, I don't know how anybody could responsibly argue that Kyle Lowry is bad at basketball. I think some people are saying as much on that Raptors forum, only to be drowned out by laughter. I mean if we're ranking his play in terms of vague superlatives, Lowry is much better than just "good" but less than "elite." What word would give people the least discomfort? Exceptional? Excellent? Let's say "excellent." Kyle Lowry is an excellent point guard.
No ur wrong and it has nothing to do with Lowry. Calderon has been straight up garbage since 2007 when he actually ran Tj ford out of town. Then he hurt his hips and hamstring he Literally stopped driving in general because he's afraid to get hurt and doesn't want to mess up his stupid assist to turnover ratio. In the past season he's just been straight up lazy until someone like Jarret Jack challenged his starting spot. He plays hard for like a few games gets BC behind him and run jack outta town and starts being suite again.
Wow I know you guys love Lowry. He's younger and a more exciting player yes. But no need to badmouth Calderon who is a fairly good PG himself to pop up Lowry. You only have to look at Calderon's stats of not only this year when he's starting but the last few years, especially his assist numbers. Those are the types of numbers a player like Lowry might never be able to achieve in his career. It's not Calderon or Lowry's fault that the 2 best talent on the team play the same position.
Toronto's problem isn't so much the amount of talent it's got, but the front office. It's two best (currently, not potential-wise) plays the same position (and costs ~16M/yr together, they couldn't get a decent center for Bosh/Bargnani, overpay for Fields to try and lure Nash, over invested in Bargnani (and not willing to cut ties), and has a roster that doesn't fit well despite some decent talents. They could lose Calderon at season end or might not get good value for him in a trade at the deadline, and could face the same situation with Lowry next year. That's your two best players, plus Bosh, and probably Bargnani will be out selling at trough values.
As someone who has watched as many Raptors games and Rockets games, I can sincerely say Calderon is straight up garbage and the Raps would be a lot better off with him off the team. Watching him in the past 3 seasons has been the second most frustrating experience I've had only after watching Bargnani. Calderon literally refuses to drive or even touch the painted area even though he has the quickness to drive past a lot of defenders, he makes no effort to play any defense, all he does is point at his teammates and let his man drive by him, he's afraid to make passes because he's afraid of messing up his assists to TO ratio numbers, and nowaways he doesn't seem like he's trying 80% of the time unless someone is threatening to takeover his PG spot.
I don't watch the Raptors, but based on stats Calderon seemed to play very well 3 and 4 years ago. And then dropped off the past two years. I know his defense has always been crap, but wasn't he at one point quite good? And then injuries kind of caught up to him?
