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 are near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, and managed to stay there even while their leading scorer at the time, DeMar DeRozan, went down with an injury that forced him to miss his team’s last 18 contests.
Lowry has stepped up in a big way during DeRozan’s absence to avoid any such slippage, but in terms of All-Star voting, the fans haven’t seemed to take notice.
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.
From Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca:Dwane Casey, on Kyle Lowry’s All-Star bid and the flaws of fan voting: pic.twitter.com/ngCobbbR3q
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 6, 2015
No one should have an issue with fans voting in the players they want to see as starters. It’s an exhibition, after all, and if people want to see Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant play in it because of their body of work (as opposed to whether or not they’re worthy of the honor in this particular season), then so be it.
But Lowry is on the flip side of the argument. Wade and Bryant getting those nods means one less roster spot in each conference for someone far more deserving. In the West, that’s probably going to cost someone like Klay Thompson the chance to make the team this season.
In the East, it’s a different story, as Lowry’s spot should ultimately be safe. But if for some reason it isn’t, the coaches who chose not to vote him in will need to watch their backs.
