It was the casual way coach Dwane Casey said it. Before the Raptors game against their natural rivals, the Boston Celtics, he was talking up the team’s newest acquisitions Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker. After the squad’s recent slide, the long wait to see them retake the court with their new look only heightened the excitement. Fans across Toronto were turned up.
And then Casey dropped it: Kyle Lowry, three time All-Star and the team’s undisputed leader, would sit out against the Celtics with a sore wrist.