Kyle Lowry was high on the list of All-Star snubs a season ago, and Raptors coach Dwane Casey wants to make sure it won’t happen again. The Raptors currently have a 24-10 record in the 3rd spot of the Eastern Conference. They managed to continue to perform well despite losing their leading scorer at the time, DeMar DeRozan who went down with an injury that forced him to miss the last 18 games. Lowry has stepped up in DeRozan’s absence but the fans haven’t quite taken notice if you check the All-Star voting.
Lowry is just fourth among guards in the East, and with John Wall and Dwyane Wade seemingly too far out of reach, in order to make the All-Star team, Lowry will need to be voted in as a reserve by the coaches. And Casey threatened physical violence to those that may choose to do otherwise.
“[I’m] very surprised,” Casey admitted after the Raptors’ Tuesday morning practice. “I hope our fans get out and vote and don’t put it in the hands of the coaches. And if the coaches don’t do it I’m probably going to get into a physical fight with those guys.”
“[The All-Star Game is] for the fans, but sometimes fans have their favourites and it has nothing to do with basketball,” said the Raptors’ coach. “I would challenge anyone to say that Kyle Lowry or Jimmy Butler are not two of the best players in the league right now.”
TSN (via ProBasketballTalk)
