Toronto Raptors: 14 bold predictions for the 2017-18 season

8) Kyle Lowry regresses

Lowry, notorious for his pressure on the rim will probably stop attacking the rim with reckless abandon. Lowry is 31. A young 31 sure, but turning 32 this season. And when you’re 32, your drives to the rim become a lot more measured. 

Lowry is 6-foot tall on a good day and taking the ball into the land of large tries becomes a more daunting task every year. Bouncing off the bodies and hitting the floor doesn’t feel good, but it also takes a ton of energy and at age 32 those deposits start to get scarce.

KLow has manufactured career years ever since he’s landed north of the border, but everything that goes up must come down. Lowry shot 41 percent from range and scored 22 points per game while playing the most minutes ever in his career (37.4) in the fewest games (60).

The more tired you get, the less likely you are to take it to the rim, the flatter your shot gets, the more shortcuts you take on defence. If he continues to run so hot, injuries will take a toll and if not, fatigue is an insidious killer.

Lowry, although not a nuclear athlete, does rely on his speed and jumping ability to finish around and under the rim. So an age related loss of step can have a severe impact on his efficacy.

The shooting could stay around if he loses a step or a half, but it’ll be harder to shake players off the dribble. He’ll have to switch to a more secondary role to shoot the ball, but the Toronto Raptors don’t have a playmaker ready enough to assume that role.