3 takeaways on Lowry, Leonard, and Siakam from Raptors practice

The Toronto Raptors held practice on Thursday in preparation for their first-round playoff match-up against the Orlando Magic. Here are three takeaways from the press conference.

Kyle Lowry playing a new role

Tired narratives remain the same, but expectations have changed for Kyle Lowry heading into his sixth playoff run with the Raptors.

The emergence of Pascal Siakam, coupled with the arrival of Kawhi Leonard, means that the Raptors’ offense no longer hinges on the ability of a 6-foot point guard to score 20 points against tight postseason defenses. Lowry’s role will be the same as it was in the regular season – to facilitate for others and make game-changing plays on both ends.

“Here’s what I think about Kyle, I think his natural instincts are to play tough and lead. Maybe in the past we needed him to do that and also get 20. I think the biggest difference is he’s going to play tough and lead because that’s who he is, he’s competitive and I think this team can win if he gets four or 34,” head coach Nick Nurse said of his point guard.

Lowry’s playoff struggles are well-chronicled, but they’re also overstated. It’s true that Lowry struggles to create his own offense (although it’s worth noting that he’s averaged 17 points and seven assists on 62.6 true shooting over the last two seasons) but he never slipped in the other areas of his game.

Lowry makes enough game-changing plays on defense and with his playmaking that he will always grade out as a positive contributor. Even in the 2016 playoffs, when Lowry had his infamous soul-searching shooting session at 1 a.m., he was still a plus-24.4 per 100 possessions throughout that run to the Eastern Conference finals.

There will come a time when the team will need more than assists from Lowry, and that’s when the Raptors will be truly tested. Teams might eventually dare Lowry to create out of the pick-and-roll while staying at home on Siakam, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol. Orlando, for example, have two rangy defenders in Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon to throw at Toronto’s top two scorers, whereas Lowry should in theory have the advantage over a smaller guard in D.J. Augustin. Can Lowry pick up the slack if Siakam and Leonard falter? Lowry remains confident in his own abilities.

“For me, if they need me to score, I can score. Some nights we needed me to score, some nights we didn’t. I think that was just the team, everyone, we had lineup in and out, everything was always different, everything was always up and down and in and out, and we just kind of figured it out. For me, it was just every game just taking a different approach and whatever the game needed me to do,” Lowry said.

Nurse expects more from Playoff Kawhi

On top of All-NBA level production, Leonard has also ushered in a culture shift in terms of mentality. The franchise has borrowed Leonard’s resume to mask their own postseason failures, and there is good reason to be confident. Not only is Leonard a former Finals MVP, but he holds the third-highest true-shooting percentage in NBA playoff history.

Leonard has always been muted, but he’s consistent about one thing – the regular season was “82 practices” to him. The franchise followed suit by giving Leonard “load management” for roughly a quarter of the games to keep him fresh, and in doing so they forfeited the No. 1 seed to Milwaukee. Eventually it comes time to deliver, and Nurse expects the best of Leonard.

“I think he’s been a long ways in the playoffs a number of times. I think we know he’s able to handle it. We’re looking for even more leadership and steadiness of demeanour and leadership of the other younger guys that maybe haven’t been in these situations before. But I’m also looking forward to watching him play in these playoffs. I think he’s really feeling good about his body and his mindset is really good, too. I think there may be another gear we see here. That’s what we’re looking for,” Nurse said.

“I think there are three areas I would expect. First of all defensively, I would imagine he is going to get to a place and find some opportunities to make plays. I have always said he is a rare guy who can make a play at the defensive end where he just decides ‘I’m going to figure out how to take the ball from somebody or jump in a passing lane.’ He can do that. Then I think offensively as well he is going to do his thing. He is going to look to score. But I also think in crunch time and late game would be another area where we would see him shine,” Nurse added.

Pascal Siakam isn’t worried

On paper, one would think Siakam might be slightly nervous about facing Orlando. After all, this is his first playoff run as a starter, and the Magic limited him to just 8.8 points per game on 34 percent shooting, his lowest scoring average against any team this season.

Isaac’s unique configuration presents a unique challenge. Siakam can usually use his quickness to score around bigger fours, or use his physicality and his height to shoot over threes, but those advantages don’t exist with Isaac, who’s quick as a cat and stands 7-feet. That being said, Siakam remains unbothered and is looking forward to the challenge.

“I think I’ve had enough games where I can look at things and see how people are guarding me and adjust. It will be interesting to see what they come up with, the defenses and all that, but for me it’s just about understanding what works, and just being myself. I think when I’m myself, I can almost always get what I want,” Siakam said.

Nurse, however, advised Siakam to take a more cautious approach and think it through instead of forcing the issue.

“This is an interesting team for (Siakam) play against, however. His matchups are long and quick. Usually he has some type of advantage which is he can blow by them, a bigger four that’s maybe not as good with his feet; or they put a three on him and he goes over the top of him. These guys are long and quick so he’s going to have to be patient. It’s not going to come easy, it is the playoffs, the buckets are tough, you’re going to play a little bit more physical maybe,” Nurse said.

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