Fansided

NBA Playoffs 2018: 5 players facing the most pressure

By Philip Rossman-Reich

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 13: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets passes the ball away from Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on February 13, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 13: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets passes the ball away from Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on February 13, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors, Jeff Teague, Minnesota Timberwolves
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 30: Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors drives around Jeff Teague #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA game at the Air Canada Centre on January 30, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Raptors defeated the Timberwolves 109-104. NOTE TO USER: user expressly acknowledges and agrees by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Licence Agreement. (Photo by Claus Andersen/ Getty Images) /

5. Kyle Lowry

The Toronto Raptors have the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Their window to get to the Finals is seemingly open. The Boston Celtics are out with injuries piling up to their top players. The Cleveland Cavaliers still have LeBron James but look considerably weaker than at any point during this run. The Philadelphia 76ers are likely too young to make a serious push.

This is the Raptors’ time. But it has been their time for a while now. And every year in the playoffs, they seem to disappoint. Kyle Lowry has been bad in the playoffs and his struggles are well documented.

Now the pressure is only going to increase against him. The Raptors are not merely the upstart team in the playoffs, they are the favorites. This is when a team’s stars are supposed to step up. They are supposed to take their game to a higher level. Consistently Lowry has struggled to do that. Consistently, he has seemingly shriveled in the spotlight.

If the Raptors are going to burst through that tiny crack in the window presented to them this year, they will need Lowry to play like the All-Star he is. He is not the supreme scorer that DeMar DeRozan has become but the Raptors will need him to keep moving the ball and hit open 3-pointers to take the pressure off everyone else.

Home/NBA Playoffs