The Philadelphia 76ers dropped yet another game to the New York Knicks in this first-round series in the Eastern Conference. The recent contest was a back-and-forth affair, with Knicks guard Jalen Brunson putting up a franchise-best, 47 points on the night. However, while the Knicks guard was the main attraction, it was his Philadelphia counterpart, Kyle Lowry, who dominated headlines for his “intelligent” plays.
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Following this, former NBA star, Gilbert Arenas hopped on the Lowry bandwagon, as the Wizards legend pointed out a particular instance in Game 4 that perfectly portrays Lowry’s superior ‘basketball IQ’. Taking to his Instagram, Arenas posted a video of the former Raptors man “purposefully” tripping over a ‘grounded’ Jalen Brunson. Explaining the reasoning behind this play, Arenas wrote on his Instagram story,
” @Kyle_Lowry7 basketball IQ..knowing if a player is on the floor, they’re not in a legal defense position so run over them for the foul.”
While the 38-year-old didn’t have a great night statistically in game 4 against the Knicks, his presence proved to be crucial during countless moments throughout the game. Even late in the 4th quarter, Lowry gave the 76ers a chance at a comeback as the veteran guard was awarded two free throws. The 2019 NBA Champion sunk his first shot, as the scoreboard showed a four-point difference between the teams[ 95-91], but intentionally missed the second, in an attempt to create an opportunity to generate an opportunity to score higher points, a scheme that went over his teammate’s heads.
So, while Lowry may not be important to the team in conventional ways at the moment, he is very much making himself useful for the franchise at the moment with some very high IQ plays, just as many other players have done for years in the NBA Playoffs.
Nikola Jokic and his high IQ play this post-season
Another player who is known for his high “IQ” basketball is Denver skipper, Nikola Jokic. The Serbian has taken the league by storm, with his passing and amazing court vision being the backbone of the Nuggets franchise. The frontrunner for this year’s MVP, Nikola Jokic, has stunned viewers once again with his jaw-dropping plays, as the Nuggets continue their beat down of the Lakers.
One of Jokic’s mind-boggling passes came in last night’s contest versus the Lakers. In the 3rd quarter of the match, with 3 minutes remaining on the clock, the Nuggets got a loose ball off a D’Angelo Russell turnover. While the whole Denver team sprinted on the fast break, Jokic had no idea where the ball was, as the Serbian suddenly received a pass that landed in front of him. With Dinwiddie right behind, Jokic orchestrated a no-look touch pass to Michael Porter Jr., leading to a simple dunk.
Just looking at the play, it’s obvious that Jokic possesses ‘otherworldly’ passing abilities. The Nuggets superstar seems to make his teammates better whenever he is on the floor, and the stats seem to sing the same song. Being a center, Jokic is averaging over 9 assists a game, and has bumped up his production to 10 assists a night during the ongoing playoff run [per Statmuse]. With the series against the Lakers now going to a pivotal game 5 at home, Jokic will look to cap it off with a magical performance, possibly leaving us with another passing masterclass.
