The Toronto Raptors have made a lot of moves this offseason to try and improve their roster so that they can finally make it past the first round of the playoffs. Last season they got off to a great start but faded out and were eventually swept by the Washington Wizards in round one. Despite all of the moves the Raptors have made the most important player on their team is their point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry has struggled with weight issues recently but he has apparently lost a significant amount of weight this offseason according to HoopsHype.
Kyle O'Quinn, a new member of the New York Knicks, posted a photo on his Instagram page of him with several other NBA players after a morning run and one of those players was a very slim looking Lowry.
Good AM run with the Fellas!!!
A photo posted by Kyle OQuinn (@kyle.oquinn) on Aug 5, 2015 at 10:57am PDT
Lowry has always been a bit of a stocky player but it really hasn't affected his game too much as he has turned himself into one of the best point guards in the league. Having said that though, being in better shape will only make Lowry a better player and less likely to deal with injuries.
Lowry is coming off a season in which he was named an All-Star starter in what was his first ever appearance in the All-Star game at age 28. Lowry could have realistically been there in 2013-14 too as his numbers were actually better that year than they were last year but he was snubbed. While Lowry made the All-Star team a year ago he still took a bit of a step backwards in terms of most of his numbers. His shooting percentage went from 42 to 41, his three point percentage went from 38 to 34 and his assists went from 7.4 per game to 6.8 per game.
Lowry also missed 12 games last season with injuries and has missed a fair amount of time with injuries throughout his career. Getting into better shape will more than likely lower the risk of the 6 foot tall point guard getting hurt next season. Lowry is the Raptors best player and if they want to take a step forward as team in 2015-16 they are going to need their All-Star to do the same thing. Raptors fans should be happy to see their point guard looking as thin as he does as it can really only mean good things going into next season.
