As we approached the start of the season, the Trail Blazers continued to have bad news.
According to the latest report from the Trail Blazers, the team's center Robert Williams suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain during training camp this week and is expected to miss two weeks, with reimbursement almost certain for preseason.
It should be said that Lowe didn't play much for the Trail Blazers last season, when he was sent to Portland as a bargaining chip in the Holiday trade, but after only playing six games for the Trail Blazers, he was reimbursed for the season with a torn ligament in his right knee.
Going back further, the 2022-23 season, Lowe's final year with the Celtics, his attendance was also pretty poor, with only 35 games played in the regular season.
For Lowe, injuries are becoming a problem.
Objectively speaking, a healthy Lowe is still quite good, in the 2020-21 season, he averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in the third year, and the shooting rate reached 72.1%.
Although the Celtics were swept by the Nets in the first round this year, the Celtics still gave him a 4-year 54 million early contract extension.
The fact is that in the first year after the contract extension, that is, in the 21-22 season, Lowe helped the Celtics reach the Finals, and his performance was also quite good.
In the regular season, he played a total of 61 games, all starts, played an average of 29.6 minutes per game, scored 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks, ranking second on the block list, while shooting 73.6%, also second in the league.
In the playoffs, Lowe played 17 games, averaging 23.2 minutes per game, handing over 7.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, shooting 67.9% from the field.
Among them, against the Warriors in the finals, Lowe sent 12 blocks in the first four games, which can cover Curry's throws and fan Curry's three-point shots.
At the time, Curry said of him: "Lowe is the reason why Boston's defense is so good, no matter where he is in the last second, he will always be there for you." ”
Although the Green Army lost to the Warriors in G6, Lowe still delivered 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocks, and throughout the series, Lowe averaged 7.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
Note that he has a cumulative plus/minus of +30, which ranks first on the team, followed by Pritchard, who is second in the main rotation, +2, and Jaylen Brown +1, who is third.
It is worth mentioning that Lowe was still forced to play in the playoffs this year, after suffering a torn meniscus at the end of the regular season, and the initial news was that the season was reimbursed, but Lowe only rested for less than a month before returning to the playoffs.
Dream chasing later praised Luo Wei: "I want to praise Luo Wei, many people have a knee injury like him, they just rest, why should I play?" We're in the finals and I'm injured and I'm going to get a lot of money and if he decides to rest, no one will complain about him. ”
Many people believe that Luo Wei was forced to play in a closed game at that time, and Luo Wei himself said in an interview that in order to be able to play, he had to receive a lot of treatment every day, including blood flow blocking training, ice, and electrical stimulation.
And, some people believe that it is precisely because of this year's forced play with injuries that Lowe has been deeply troubled by injuries in the past two years, and it is also because the attendance rate is too low that the Celtics will choose to send him away.
You could say that the Celtics were impersonal, but the trade proved to be the right thing for the team, as the Celtics won the title last season and are likely to defend it this season.
On the other hand, the Trail Blazers have suffered repeated setbacks on the road to rebuilding, and it is not only Lowe who will be out for the new season, but another young player, Sharpe, who also suffered a labrum tear in the back of his left shoulder during training camp, and is expected to miss four to six weeks, and will definitely be reimbursed for preseason.
Finally, back to Luo Wei, as we said earlier, he is really a very good player when healthy, with top finishing ability, frame protection ability, and can also change multiple positions, this kind of blue-collar pie-shaped inside line is very popular in today's era, and the strong team is almost plug-and-play, and his contract is not large, with a salary of only 13.98 million and 14.95 million for the remaining two years.
I hope that this injury will not affect the regular season, if he plays well, the Trail Blazers may be able to sell him a first-rounder, and Lowe himself may also receive an early contract extension, looking forward to the runner-up center two years ago, and not becoming a glass man.