Kyle Lowry unwittingly created a controversy for his Toronto Raptors by disappearing to the locker room during Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals, but his coach is backing him publicly.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey insisted that Lowry had not quit on his team by heading to the locker room to “decompress” during the second quarter of Toronto’s loss.
“Kyle did not walk out on his team,” Casey said, via Mike Mazzeo of ESPN. “He and Cory Joseph use the bathroom more than any two human beings I know during the game. I don’t think he quit on his team.”
Lowry said the whole thing had become overblown.
“It’s whatever. I think it’s an overreaction, personally. I’ve done it countless times,” Lowry said. “Maybe I went to go to the bathroom. I’ve done it before, going to the bathroom. It’s just the magnitude of the situation, which makes it a lot bigger than what it really it is.
“So next time I’ll clarify, ‘Hey, I’m going to the bathroom,’ or ‘Hey, I’m doing this.’ I’ll make sure I’m clear on it so everyone knows.”
Lowry has a point about the story being overblown. That said, if he had to go to the bathroom, he should have just said so. It would have gotten a chuckle and made him the target of a few jokes, but little else. The “decompress” excuse has instead turned a non-story into a story and made Lowry the subject of criticism, creating another distraction with Toronto’s backs already up against the wall. He seems to have learned that lesson.
