Kyle Lowry, right, has averaged 22.6 points and 8.7 assists in DeMar DeRozan’s absence – the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month is tied for sixth in the NBA in assists per game.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The Toronto Raptors get increasingly vocal about it by the day: If Kyle Lowry isn't voted to the NBA all-star game, there's something wrong with the system.
The star point guard has been scoring more, logging more minutes and shouldering more leadership duties for one of the Eastern Conference's best teams since backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan suffered a groin injury in late November.
That will continue a little longer while DeRozan works through a few more practices before returning to the lineup. Despite being December's Eastern Conference Player of the Month and the league's only player to average 20-plus points and 8.5 assists during that time, Lowry remains fourth in fan voting for Eastern Conference guards as of the latest poll on Jan. 1. His team isn't having it.
Lowry was snubbed in the voting last year, and it could happen again. The top two guards and top three frontcourt players in each conference are chosen as starters by fans, while the remaining roster spots are picked by the coaches. Fan balloting continues until Jan. 19, but the latest poll has Lowry with 274,741 votes, behind Washington's John Wall (439,395), Miami's Dwyane Wade (396,757) and Cleveland's Kyrie Irving (308,727).
"If Kyle Lowry and [Chicago's] Jimmy Butler aren't all-stars, there is something wrong with our system," said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. "That young man – I've been with a lot of great point guards – Jason Kidd in Dallas and Gary Payton in Seattle – and Kyle has a style and an effect on the game like those guys. He is an all-star, and I'll tell anyone who asks."
Forward Patrick Patterson reasoned that some fans vote for their favourite players and not necessarily the top performers. Casey quipped that he may have to "get into a physical fight" with NBA coaches who don't place Lowry in the game – should his fate fall to them.
Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper took to Twitter this week to encourage fans to vote for Lowry. His tweet counted as a vote – with proper #NBABALLOT hashtag intact – as did all of its retweets. (Not to be outdone, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau tweeted his support on Wednesday.)
DeRozan, a 2014 all-star, said he had "no words" to express how he feels about Lowry's play in his absence, an 18-game stretch in which the point guard has averaged 22.6 points and 8.7 assists without the help of his 19-point-a-night co-captain. The Raptors held first place in the Eastern Conference for 60 days until a three-game losing skid out West last week knocked the 24-10 squad into third place.
"He took the team on his back. He's running all my plays since I've been out," said DeRozan, who practised Wednesday and said his groin is healed. He won't play Thursday against Charlotte but is likely to return some time next week. "He should make it. He's in there. If he doesn't get in there with votes, he's in there no matter what. He's been snubbed a couple of times in his career. I know he's in. I don't need to send a vote or nothing because I know he's in."
Lowry's 7.6 assists a night on the year rank him sixth in the NBA, tied with LeBron James. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.29 is the league's seventh best. Golden State's Stephen Curry and Portland's Damian Lillard are the NBA's only point guards to have averaged more than Lowry's 20.6 points this year.
The starters for the Feb. 15 all-star game in New York will be announced on Jan. 22, with the naming of reserves to follow on Jan. 29.
Rachel Brady