Raptors announce that there is no timetable for Kyle Lowry's return

Scott Rafferty

Raptors announce that there is no timetable for Kyle Lowry's return image

The Toronto Raptors announced on Wednesday that Kyle Lowry recently received pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections for his lower back soreness, which, along with a quad injury, has sidelined him for seven of the last eight games.

Lowry's condition continues to improve, the Raptors added, but there is no timetable for his return.


Lowry is in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career. His scoring is down, but he's averaging a career-high 9.8 assists per game, putting him behind only Russell Westbrook for most in the league.

With Lowry on the court, the Raptors have been outscoring opponents by an average margin of 12.2 points per 100 possessions. With him on the bench, they've been outscored by 4.4 points per 100 possessions.

Lowry last played on Dec. 22. In a 25-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the four-time All-Star logged 30 minutes and scored 20 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.

After the game, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Lowry "obviously wasn't 100 percent."

"I think he was struggling there a little bit at the end, so we got him out of there," Nurse continued. "But he was pretty good. I thought he was up the floor, and he was defending and fighting and doing his thing."

Fred VanVleet has been starting in place of Lowry over the last couple of weeks. VanVleet is averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals as a starter compared to 8.8 points, 3.9 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals as a reserve this season.

The Raptors host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and travel to San Antonio on Friday to play the Spurs.

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.