Is the traditional defender really obsolete?
Compared with Curry, Lillard, a defender with strong offensive ability, and the old-schoolers who mainly pass the ball, are indeed a little less ornamental, but now it seems that if they really want to compete for the championship, the adaptability of traditional defenders is higher.
For example, Chris Paul, whether in the Rockets, or the Thunder, or the current Sun, he can be perfectly integrated, and enhance the overall competitiveness of the team, especially in Phoenix, although it has long passed the year, Paul still led the Suns, which have been away from the playoffs for 11 years, all the way to the Finals;
In addition, there is another traditional defender who has to be mentioned, he is Kyle Lowry.
Like Paul, Lowry is also a strong desire to win, and extremely disciplined backcourt, he never drinks carbonated drinks, cut off the relationship with butter, dessert, the recipe is only salad, water, protein and vegetables, from 2015, into the year of Lori, he strictly controls his weight, only that summer, he burned 10 kilograms of fat, it is also by this hard work, Lori on the court, always able to maintain a strong enough influence.
During the Raptors era, Lowry was the best point guard in the team's history, and although his combination with DeRozan did not help Toronto to go further in the playoffs, in those years, the Raptors also set many records, such as the 17-18 season, they created the most 59 wins in team history, and the highest 72% win rate, and this is also the first divisional regular season first in raptors history;
In the 18-19 season, although the team made a large-scale blood change, especially the core position, from DeRozan to Leonard, with the assistance of Lowry, this team that did not have a championship phase actually reached the finals and defeated the overlord Warriors at that time to win the first championship trophy in the history of the team for Toronto;
Last summer, the Heat used a high salary of 3 years and 90 million US dollars to bring the soul of the Toronto team back to Miami, although at the time, many fans were not optimistic about the signing, after all, Lowry at that time was 35 years old, which meant that at the age of 38, he could still take away the high salary of $30 million from the Heat, but now, the Heat fans really thank Riley, because Lowry is so fragrant.
In 2020, although the Heat reached the Finals, in the following season, they performed badly, only achieving the 6th place in the East, and were eliminated by the Bucks in the first round, from the lineup point of view, the Heat is really not bad, key Mr. Butler, inside the new star Adebayo, outside and Hiro such a young scorer, and the 19-20 season of the league's first scorer Duncan Robinson, but such a group of people, but together handed over a league 19th place offensive efficiency.
The Heat need commanders, and they need an engine that creates more offensive opportunities for them.
This season, Lowry's feel is indeed not good, especially the three-point shot, as the East for 5 consecutive seasons of three-point king, although in the past 2 years, his production has declined, but the efficiency has always been maintained at about 40%, but now, his three-point shooting rate is only 33.7%, the outside of the lowry, naturally reduced his own number of shots, averaging 12.9 points per game, creating a new low in the past 8 seasons.
But don't worry, although the personal offensive end of the contribution is insufficient, but Lowry still has two key magic weapons, look at his organization, averaging 8.0 assists per game, not only ranked first in the team, but also in the league at the 7th place, under his combing, the Heat's offensive efficiency has been significantly improved, can get 112 points per hundred rounds, ranking 7th in the league;
There is also defense, which is what Lowry has always been very good at, last season, the Heat can concede 110.7 points per 100 rounds, but this season, they only conceded 107.4 points per 100 rounds, ranking 6th in the league, Lowry although not selected for the best defensive team, but compared to Dragic is much stronger, especially when he and Butler, Tucker, Adebayo, Dunro are on the floor at the same time, this lineup will make the opponent's average shooting rate, drop to only 35%.
As of now, with the help of Lowry, the Heat have achieved a record of 35 wins and 20 losses, ranking first in the East, and once again becoming a big favorite for the title.
This is the ability of traditional defenders, compared to those who rely on physical talent to eat, this group of people who rely on ball dealers to play, is really getting older and more demon, don't look at a game that can't get a few points, but can invisibly create 40 points, 50 points, and even the value of winning or losing games, so to say, traditional defenders will never become obsolete, especially the team that competes for the championship level, who doesn't want to have such a veteran sitting in the number one position?