As someone who did not follow the Rockets' last season, I'm curious as to whether there was a consensus among the fans here on who was better? or was it pretty even? Is their current production a continuation of their play last season? Because from the few games I've seen this season, I have to say I would easily lean towards Lowry, not that Dragic is playing bad or anything but man Kyle just leaves everything on the court, he's incredibly fun to watch.
Lowry was the starter and then pretty much lost his spot due to being hurt. By the time he was ready to come back Dragic was in pure beast mode, put up 'Linsanity' type of numbers... It's hard to say, I'd go with Lowry though. I think it was pretty even around here.
They're different but about equal. Only thing for me is Lowry's constant flopping and whining. I think that wore thin with everyone, fans, players, and refs.
The thing with the perception of the two here was very much dependent on the time frame. Early on when Lowry was playing like a stud more than half of the board wouldn't have traded Lowry for Deron Williams (http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=214034 - I think the poll even may be skewed some in favor of Williams, because the thread got bumped when people where down on Lowry towards the end of last season). Back then nobody would have even bothered comparing Lowry to Dragic. When Lowry got sick and Dragic took over there certainly were various posters making the case for Dragic to be better and as time got on it seemed as if more and more people preferred Dragic to Lowry (if I had to guess I'd say 2/3 preferred Dragic). I like Dragic, but I always thought Lowry was the better player, myself.
Since a large portion of people tend to go with a "what have you done for me lately?" approach, you'll probably get a consensus that Dragic was the superior player. However, Lowry put up over a full season's worth of quality starting PG numbers, while Dragic put up better numbers over the course of less than 1/3 of a season. Ultimately, though, I doubt that the team would have been any better or worse off with one or the other. They were about on par with each other distributing the ball, with Lowry as a better defender and Dragic as a better scorer.
They are exactly the same age, but with different strengths. Personally I would pick Lowry because he is more complete as a player, so he would fit in better with all-stars because he could relegate himself to a spot-up shooter and focus entirely on every other aspect of the game. Lowry has a glaring advantage over Dragic in terms of rebounding (then again, Lowry has a glaring advantage over ALL guards in rebounding). Dragic is bigger than Lowry, and not a bad defender as well. He is a very creative scorer, and I would argue a better scorer than Lowry. Overall, his biggest strength over Lowry is his ability to finish. He is very strong at finishing around the rim because of his size and creativity, whereas Lowry often relies on drawing fouls around the rim. Both of them are better than Brooks, however. And he was a whole different chapter.
Thanks for the answers guys. Are you serious? totally surprised to read he was a notorious flopper. I haven't seen him flop this season (that new rule might've scared him) Interesting! Thanks for the explanation. Like gwatson86 said, I guess sometimes people tend to go with a "what have you done for me lately?" approach.
Meh I simply thought Dragic was better Lowry slowed down a lot at the end, but he did have a higher peak IMO where he was averaging like crazy amount of points assists and rebounds. I loved both simply because they literally played their hearts out night in and night out, and hustled on both ends of the floor no matter what. As far as Lowry's flops, yeah it got pretty annoying because a lot of times he was trying to draw fouls instead of just finishing a layup or passing it. He also complained a lot to the refs before he got injured. Dragic to me seemed like a no none sense hard-nosed player that literally had one motor and that was "go, go go". He never really flopped or complained about anything. Like every possession he would try for a fast break, and every drive was like full force bull doze to the hoop. When Martin and Lowry went out at the same time, many of us thought the season was over, but somehow Dragic and the rest of the bench guys just pulled together wins purely on hustle. If I were to choose now, I would choose Lowry because he's younger and is a more complete player than Dragic, but I liked the Rockets Dragic better than the Rockets Lowry.
Honestly, neither player had enough a sample size to give a definitive answer. Lowry had more of a chance, but injuries derailed him. And if his Toronto career's any indication, injury problem may continue. Not sure. Regardless, neither player was someone you keep at all cost, IMO. The Rockets front office seemed to think that way.
Their stats were super similar last season, but Lowry was always the better defender and hustle type player among the two. Meanwhile, Dragic was the superior shooter.
Dragic > Lowry. Dragic would be a great compliment to Harden and the rest of the team rather than Lowry, more because his style of "quick" play. Lowry was more of a beast. I could have seen Dragic averaging 10+ assists a game if he were still on the Rockets. Lin + Dragic + Harden would have been oh so much fun.
The thing that IMO made Dragic better than Lowry for me was that he was a plain straight baller... no flopping, or utilization of fouls to get his points... he just got buckets. The way he would run a fast break was like a knife through butter and I really miss it. However, losing those 6 games before the playoffs started really left me with a bad taste for Dragic. I love both of them though.
Lowry was our beloved bulldog. Many times the team had given up but he would be out there, willing the team to win. He just wouldn't quit. He always has time off for an injury though every season he was with us. Dragic was so creative on the break with his Euro-step and assists. Fans loved to see him play. McHale loved his attacking style. I'd say he plays faster than Lowry. There were reports that McHale got upset when we let Dragic go. I think Dragic would have fit better with the coaches and with Harden.
I liked Lowry's fire but that fire turned into something else entirely... he become a whiny b****, there's really no other way to put it. He was liable to start pouting at any moment. Dragic just got it done. Dragic proved to be the better fit under McHale.
