Justin said:
I'm just making the point that Calderon was able to create more plays and get more assists than Lowry with this same group.
Sure, but that's a stylistic question, not one of efficiency. Lowry's play is more effective than Calderon's. Saying "Lowry has got to put up assist totals like Calderon" is fine and all but if Lowry was continuing to score the way he is, rebound and defend like he does
and was in the top 5 in terms of AST%, he'd basically be Chris Paul. That criticism is basically just saying that he's not an all-star.
It'd be like saying Demar Derozan
has to add a three point shot to his game. Essentially you're asking him to be a different and much better player.
Justin said:
Lowry has got to show more distribution skills moving forward and run the offense more efficiently. It's the facet of Calderon's game that we're missing.
No, it's not a facet the Raptors are missing, it's something they're slightly less good at. Again, Lowry's assist totals, his assist %, are good. Not great but good. They're certainly not so low that they're in and of themselves an impediment to the team being competitive. Lowry's assist numbers are essentially the same as Ty Lawson's and the Nuggets are 38-20 in a much tougher conference.
With Lowry on the floor the Raptors offensive efficiency is 114 points per 100 possessions. As a point of comparison, the Thunder's offensive efficiency rating with Russell Westbrook is 110 per 100, Stephen Curry's is at 114, Deron Williams is at 112. Ty Lawson is at 110 and on and on. The offense, with Lowry on the court, is efficient enough.
You went to a game where Lowry had 2 assists. That'll happen to him on some nights, especially if they're playing him with two wings who aren't much in the way of spot-up shooters. Still, as he proved against the Bucks, he's more than capable of having good assist totals.
One lucky lady!