Kyle Lowry after Raptors sweep: This was a wasted season

Kyle Lowry sure had a harsh reaction to the Toronto Raptors’ playoff exit.

Lowry spoke with the media on Tuesday, a day after his Raptors were swept out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He said the season was a wasted one.

“For me it was championship or bust, that’s what I feel,” Lowry said. “That’s what I always feel, so a wasted year for me.”

The Raptors won a franchise record 59 games and captured the No. 1 seed in the East. But they lost to the Cavs in the second round for the second year in a row and were eliminated by them in the postseason for the third straight year.

Lowry said he doesn’t think people understand how tough it is to try and beat LeBron in the playoffs, which is what they’ve been faced with. But he says they want to be the ones to finally knock off James and end his streak of consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

Do you think people understand how tough it is to go up against LeBron?

Lowry: "I don't think they understand it, no. I think we're watching one of the greatest to ever play. Somebody has to (beat him) at some point, and we want it to be us."

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 8, 2018

Toronto’s best hope might be seeing James leave the conference over the summer, though we wouldn’t count on that happening.