Kyle Lowry is well aware of the repeated string of postseason disappointments for his Toronto Raptors team, but he refuses to call his team's efforts failures, despite admitting the roadblock they've yet to overcome.
Head coach Dwane Casey is aware of his team running into a woodchipper, as the Cleveland Cavaliers won 10 straight games, including sweeping the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
“The last couple of years, we lost to a champion and a [NBA] Finals team,” Casey said, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe. “I bristle when people say we are failures.”
Lowry looked sharp during Games 1 and 2 against the Cavs before suffering an ankle injury, which put the Raptors' already slim chances in peril.
“I haven't played the best,” Lowry said, “but when I have great games in the playoffs, no one says anything. Nothing.”
Toronto has been utterly dependent on their All-Star backcourt — a caveat that has made them a relatively easy out in the last few seasons.
With the culture change in place, the Raptors are meant to become more of a ball-sharing team that is more comprehensively astute on its side-to-side movement of the rock. While Lowry expects to be just another knot ahead of its course, Casey remains objective.
“Is [the new offense] gonna translate into the playoffs?” Casey asked. “We're gonna find out.”
Toronto leads the East by a comfortable margin, winners of nine straight games, but they still don't get the league-wide respect that they could make it deep in the postseason.
“We take that disrespect,” shooting guard DeMar DeRozan said, “and carry it into games.”
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