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Raptors by the numbers: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph finding success together
By title Cory Joseph is the Raptors' backup point guard whose main job is to spell starter Kyle Lowry. That's the role the 24-year-old Pickering, Ont., native signed up for when he agreed to a four-year, $30 million free agent contract with his hometown team in the offseason.
With Lou Williams (signed with the Lakers as a free agent) and Greivis Vasquez (traded to the Bucks) out of the equation, the stage was set for Joseph to be Toronto's primary ballhandling guard off the bench and run the second-team. But in reality, Joseph brings so much more than your typical reserve player.
The NBA is shifting away from basketball's conventional lineup structures and it's become more common-place for two traditional point guards to take the court together. Joseph is 6-foot-3 and Lowry is listed at 6-feet, but they make up for their lack of height with tenacity and intelligent play.
Over the first two weeks of the season, Lowry is sharing the backcourt with Joseph about as much as he did with Williams, who is more of a combo guard than a true floor general, and slightly less than he did with Vasquez. Through 11 games the Lowry-Joseph pairing has been mucn more effective than Lowry's small-guard partners in 2014-15, especially on the defensive end.
Pairing | MINS (% of Lowry’s MINS) | OFF RTG | DEF RTG | NET RTG |
Lowry + Joseph | 135 (35%) | 112.7 | 99.9 | +12.8 |
Lowry + Williams | 822 (34%) | 110.0 | 103.5 | +6.5 |
Lowry + Vasquez | 650 (27%) | 104.7 | 105.9 | -1.2 |
The combination's early success and chemistry has given head coach Dwane Casey confidence to use it during a game's most critical moments. The Raptors' go-to closing lineup in the fourth quarter so far this season has featured Lowry and Joseph with DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, and Jonas Valanciunas and that group has had great success, outscoring opponents by 28.4 points per 100 possessions.
It's a stark contrast from Lowry's fourth quarters forays last season alongside Williams and Vasquez, which were disastrous.
Pairing | MINS (% of Lowry’s MINS) | OFF RTG | DEF RTG | NET RTG |
Lowry + Joseph | 53 (84%) | 109.5 | 101.3 | +8.3 |
Lowry + Williams | 241 (50%) | 109.5 | 112.5 | -2.9 |
Lowry + Vasquez | 182 (38%) | 100.7 | 111.6 | -10.9 |
So what's the difference? First of all, Joseph is much better perimeter defender than Williams and Vasquez and draws the more difficult defensive assignment, which allows Lowry to match up with the easier check and conserve his energy for important offensive duties.
The partnership has been beneficial for both of them. Lowry is playing like the All-Star he proved he could be in the first half of last season, averaging 19.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds. Joseph is putting up a modest 9.5 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game, which would all be career-highs.
The Raptors were always intrigued by the possibility of pairing Lowry with Joseph. For it to work, though, they would need Joseph to make a leap to rotation regular after being mostly a bit player his first four years in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. So far the Raptors' coaching staff could not be more impressed Casey told the Toronto Star last week:
“Cory’s been playing extremely well, hard, efficient,” Casey said. “Defensively he’s been a pit bull. He’s helped our defence with the second unit, so we love to go small with him. He doesn’t play small.”
It's dangerous to put too much stock into early-season small sample sizes, but this one time seems to be a given: get used to seeing Lowry and Joseph on the floor together when the game is on the line.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
