PHILADELPHIA—It has been a strange year for Kyle Lowry, an evolution. His best friend was traded; his grip on the Toronto Raptors was pried away and given to somebody else. His performance veered back and forth, but tended toward stepping back, not forward. Before the trade deadline he was told by management that he needed to truly commit to this thing. He didn’t come close to being moved, but he could have.
And now here we are: The best Raptors team anybody has ever seen is both literally and figurative bruised after losing two straight to the Philadelphia 76ers.