There’s a really odd story that came out of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.
The story doesn’t include Cleveland winning its 10th consecutive game to start the playoffs, this time by 19 points. Based on how Game 1 went, this was to be expected.
Instead, it’s all about the actions of two-time Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry, who abruptly left the court late in the second quarter.
Lowry, who was in no way injured, took a stroll to the locker room as Toronto’s trainers looked at one another in utter confusion.
Why would Lowry leave the court in such a hurry? What was going on with him? Did he need to use the restroom?
“Just to kind of decompress,” Lowry said, via CBS Sports. “I’ve done it plenty of times. Just now the magnitude of the situation, it shows a bit more.”
What, what?
With Toronto down just four points and less than three minutes left in the first half of a conference title game, the team’s star point guard headed off to the locker room “just to kind of decompress?”
To be fair, Lowry wasn’t having a good go at it in the second quarter prior to exiting stage left. He had missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc and turned the ball over three times in that quarter alone.
Still, didn’t Lowry have some sort of understanding his team might have needed him during this important stretch?
Instead, the lead jumped from just two baskets to 11 points by the time he returned with less than 20 seconds remaining in the half.
Lowry, who has struggled throughout the entire postseason, shot just 4-of-14 from the field with 10 points and five turnovers.
He’s shooting at just a 29 percent clip from the field, including a 1-of-15 mark from three point range in the first two games of the series.
If the Raptors are going to make a series of this, they are going to need their starting point guard to return to regular season form. More than that, they need him to get his head straight.
Abandoning your team in the middle of an important stretch isn’t justifiable under any circumstance. Doing so in the conference finals just to clear your head is unacceptable.