Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors are fresh off of their disappointing four-game sweep at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a rough end to what was an amazing regular season. Toronto is heading into what could be an offseason change, as Dwane Casey is already expected to be fired.
Toronto put together a 59-win regular season and was the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They were favored to beat the Cavaliers after Cleveland was taken to Game 7 by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the team never looked like they had a chance.
Following the loss, Lowry has had some tough words for the Raptors. He went as far as to say that the Raptors had a “wasted year.”
“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. We’ve continuously failed against the team that made the Finals the last three years.”
DeMar DeRozan, on the other hand, had softer words but they carried a very similar message.
“Maybe they just got our number. The last three years have been rough for us, competing against this team.”
This time around, the Raptors are feeling even lower than they have in years past. Heading into the series, very few thought they would end up losing the series. James and company have not looked as weak as they did against the Pacers for quite some time, which made the sweep even more surprising.
Kyle Lowry poured his heart into this one… but this look is truly heartbreaking… pic.twitter.com/fdIe7DcOJb
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) May 6, 2018
Lowry will enter another offseason of coming up short and trying to work hard to improve. There have been rumblings that the Raptors could make some roster moves this offseason, but that will not be known until the offseason arrives. Toronto certainly can’t be too confident that their current roster can get the job done.
It will be intriguing to follow along with the Raptors throughout the course of the offseason. Casey being fired is a big move and one that many players on the roster will not like. DeRozan and Lowry have already thrown support for Casey out there, but it sounds like the Raptors could choose to go a different direction.
All of that being said, this season is something that the Raptors cannot be happy with. Being eliminated by James once again will leave a sour taste in the mouths of the players, which hopefully will motivate them to work even harder this offseason to come back next year and truly become the best team in the East.
