In Year 18, Lowry is not the player he was when he made six straight All-Star teams and won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors — “Back in the day, 2K, you could get a lot of buckets with him,” 76ers big man Paul Reed said — but, because of his brain, he can still be a game-changer. Sometimes, the Lowry effect is easy to see: a timely 3-pointer, a sneaky hit-ahead pass, a galvanizing charge. Sometimes, it is less tangible. Philadelphia is only 4-6 with Lowry in the lineup, but it has been without reigning MVP Joel Embiid for all of those games, without starter De’Anthony Melton for most of them and without All-Star Tyrese Maxey for four of them. The hope is that, when they’re whole, Lowry’s presence will make the Sixers a smarter, tougher, more versatile playoff team. At the moment, they’re in play-in territory and he’s trying to keep them afloat. And hold them accountable. “He’s going to tell you the truth,” Maxey said. “He don’t believe in sugarcoating. And that’s with everybody, the whole staff.” “Kyle is going to keep it 50 times two at all times,” Reed said. -via CBSSports.com / March 18, 2024
