Kyle Lowry vs Kemba Walker: Which Point Guard Will Be The X-Factor In Playoff Decider?

Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker have given us a playoff treat. The NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference semi-finals have seen a hellacious matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics ran off to an early 2-0 lead in the series. However, the Raptors have fought back and made this a 3-3 series. Now it is for anyone to win in a final game seven, as the winner goes on to face Miami Heat in the Conference Finals.

This game seven may just come down to the performances of the two ball-handlers on each team. Boston Celtics Kemba Walker may be deferring to Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but he is still the on-court leader of this young Celtics team. Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry has years of playoff experience and a championship to his name. However, he is relied on quite heavily by this free-sharing Raptors team.

Walker is averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 assists in the series against Toronto. While Kyle Lowry has averaged 21.5 points and 6.8 assists, with a high defensive contribution as well.

Kyle Lowry vs Kemba Walker: Who gets the better of who in game seven?

Walker hasn’t had the best series. His shot efficiency has suffered, while his numbers have also fallen below his regular-season numbers. However, he has shown flashes of brilliance in this series. Walker would have been the hero of game three because of his beautiful pass to Daniel Theis that gave the Celtics the lead with 0.5 seconds on the clock. However, one OG Anunoby shot later, the series is 2-1 instead of 3-0. Walker had 29 points in that showing.

Lowry has been hustling all series long for the Raptors. Outside of a horrible game five performance, which saw him as a -23 on the court (Walker was a +23). In fact, Lowry has been a total of -4 in this series, primarily because of that one -23 performance. However, Lowry differentiates himself from Walker on the defensive end. Lowry is averaging 2.2 steals a game in this series.

Walker has shown that he has the explosive driving ability to wreak havoc on the Raptors defense. He has a usually reliable shot and elite playmaking abilities. That has been limited this series by the defense that guards as Lowry and Fred VanVleet have played on him. Walker isn’t Lowry’s ideal defensive matchup either. Lowry scored 7 points with Walker as his primary defender in game 6, the most any individual Celtic conceded while guarding Lowry.

Game seven will come down to which point guard succeeds better. Game three saw both men have big games, but the Raptors stole a win that game. For this game, a stolen win is the end of a season’s worth of basketball for one team. Walker is in his first real post-season run. Lowry, on the other hand, will lace up for his 99th playoff game in this game seven.

Lowry is clearly the better PG from what we have seen this series. However, Walker’s strength is in creating an opportunity for his teammates to succeed, which he does really well. He stayed on in game six despite not scoring due to his playmaking abilities.

Both players have had good games and bad games. However, the margin for error is officially zero and it will be interesting to see who wins this matchup. Will it be Kemba Walker and his young Celtics team or will it be Kyle Lowry’s former champions Raptors?