NBA 2018-19 season analysis: Kyle Lowry needs to get his act together before it's too late

The smooth and successful integration of Kawhi Leonard into the Toronto Raptors squad has been one of the most pleasantly unprecedented sights for basketball lovers across the globe. He is having a two-dimensionally solid season, averaging 26.1 points along with around 2 steals per game.

There's no denying the fact that The Claw is looking like himself ever since the season has kicked off, and is having a typical Kawhi-like season on both ends of the floor.

But what has fallen through the cracks amidst this humongous tectonic shift involving DeRozan and Kawhi is the showing of the Raptors' four-time All-star point guard, Kyle Lowry. Lowry's performance in recent games has been subpar, to say the least. He has scored a total of 15 points in the Toronto's last four match-ups (played against Denver, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Milwaukee), failing to score even 10 points in each of his past five games.

Lowry's most recent showing was against the Milwaukee Bucks, in which he was bestowed with 34 minutes of playtime only to end up with 0 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. In a game that demanded an extraordinary effort to down the team that is right on Toronto's tail on the Eastern Conference leaderboard, that was clearly not what was expected from the main ball-handler.

"I've gotta look at the film, see where it was at," Lowry said quietly after the game. "I don't know. Just couldn't find the open ones tonight."

Lowry shot 0 for 5 from the floor, making it the first time since 17 March 17 2013 (against Miami) that he didn't score a single point. Though he is leading the league with 10.0 assists per game, he is averaging a near-season-low 13.7 points this year.

Kristen Ledlow stated on her show that she had a chat with Lowry a night earlier, and that he admitted that he "is trying not to be as aggressive, because he sees his role as a facilitator right now, integrating Kawhi into this team, all their moving parts". He also reportedly thinks "there will be a time when he kinda pushes forward".

The preceding argument (if true) can be considered one of the most baseless alibis of all time by any player at any point in time in his career. Acquiring an All-Star, once-in-a-generation type player doesn't give the other players a license to slack off and be 'less aggressive' than they were before.

The Raptors are 21-7 (win-loss) on the season and the nearest chasers are the Bucks, who are 2.5 games behind. If only Lowry could step up and support the future MVP on his team the way he did with DeMar, Toronto could well be staring at one of the most dominant seasons the franchise has had in a long time.

The Bucks look unstoppable at the moment, the Celtics have begun their regrouping process and the Sixers have won 8 of their last 10, so it's safe to say that the Raptors are not that secure with the cushion they have right now. For them to truly be secure, the 6-foot-1 guard badly needs to head the 'best of the rest' crew down in Toronto while Kawhi keeps doing his thing.