J.J. Redick does not agree with Kyle Lowry’s decision to head to the locker room toward the end of the first half of his team’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night.
Redick, who is working as a studio analyst for ESPN during the NBA playoffs, feels that Lowry should have remained on the sidelines with his Toronto Raptors teammates.
“It is inexplicable, and I don’t know that there’s a good reason for it,” Redick said. “Kyle is the heart and soul of that team. He’s got to get himself going, but he’s got to get himself going on the court and with his teammates. There’s really never a reason to leave your teammates.”
Lowry went to the locker for roughly 10 seconds of actual game time. He would have been better off saying he had to use the men’s room than giving the excuse he gave, but the story has definitely been overblown a bit.
At the end of the day, leaving the court for personal reasons during a game in which you are struggling mightily is always going to look bad. Redick was probably alluding to that more than anything.
H/T Sam Amick
