NBA ECF Positional Breakdown: Eric Bledsoe vs. Kyle Lowry

As the ECF gets ready to tip off, key positional battles will determine who gets to the NBA Finals. Here’s how the Raptors and Bucks point guards match up

At the end of the NBA regular season, most pundits predicted a Milwaukee Bucks vs. Toronto Raptors Eastern Conference Final. While the Raptors’ road was more arduous, they are back for the first time since 2016.

The Bucks have been in cruise mode up to this point, losing only one game and winning their last four in convincing fashion. The Bucks and Raptors play styles/personnel vary widely, but the PG position provides some striking similarities.

Lowry and Bledsoe are two players cut from the same cloth. While they possess different skill sets and are undoubtedly at different stages of their career, the parallels are striking.

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Standing 6-foot (Lowry) and 6-foot 1 (Bledsoe), both players have the prototypical point guard frame. Short and extremely stocky, Lowry and Bledsoe makeup for their vertically challenged physique with an unbelievable amount of strength and tenacity of play per pound.

However, a few key differences give one of these PG’s a clear advantage.

Offense

Lowry 2019 NBA Playoffs – 13.1 PPG – 40FG% – 25.6 3P% – 107 ORtg – 45.8 eFG%

Bledsoe 2019 NBA Playoffs – 13.4PPG – 43FG% – 25 3P% – 92 ORtg – 48.3 eFG%

Apparently, both of these players forgot how to shoot a basketball.

Lowry’s 3-point percentage dropped 10 percent and Bledsoe’s dropped eight percent. Raptors fans gave Lowry a lot of hate for his inability to provide space on the court, as his jumper’s been beyond broken in the playoffs. Bledsoe has escaped similar criticism due to his team’s success but has been shooting just as bad from long-range

Besides the 3-point percentage, Lowry’s kept everything else steady, shooting better from inside the arc than the regular season. Offensively, Lowry operates as the primary ball-handler, getting the offense in rhythm and delivering the ball to his primary scorers in key areas. He doesn’t do much in the pick-and-roll sets, averaging only three actions a game.

Off-ball Lowry operates as a floor spacer, with the potential to drive on the catch if a lane presents itself. Most would think a shorter player like Kyle will have trouble finishing near the paint, as the playoffs bring increased physicality and swallowed whistles, but he is shooting comparable at the rim( 60% vs. 64.5% regular season 0-3 feet), and is somehow shooting better from 3-10 feet(+9.0%) in the postseason.

Bledsoe’s story is similar, as his efficiency inside the paint has increased by two percent. His dynamic rim attacks punish the lanes that inevitably open as defenses swarm Giannis. Bledsoe’s as gifted athletically as any guard in the league minus Russell Westbrook, and can contort his body to finish over taller and stronger defenders near the rim.

Eric is shooting 58.1 percent on drives this post-season, tied for seventh overall(>20mpg), with Lowry at 13th (55.3%). Bledsoe similarly has not used the PnR at all this postseason, averaging only 3.8 actions per game. He is content to let Giannis attract the help defense, and play off whatever compromised position the defense is in. Not a bad strategy.

Lowry is unequivocally the better facilitator, ranking top 6 in assists, secondary assists (pass before the assist) and potential assists (passes leading to shots that missed) these playoffs. His assist to turnover ratio is top 10 as well, and indicative of his 107 ORtg. In terms of setting teammates up, Lowry blows Bledsoe out of the water.

The complicating factor at PG for the Bucks is that George Hill caught fire in the latter half of the Boston series, shooting a scintillating 47 percent from deep. Hill should see a lot of time as well. Hill’s ability to space the court is invaluable when the Bucks need spacing for Giannis drives, and he could easily supplant Bledsoe given the right situation.

While Bledsoe attacks the rim at a more efficient and effective rate, Lowry holds the edge in control and facilitating. His ability to run the offense without turning the ball over for extended stretches gives him the edge over Bledsoe on this end of the court.

Defense

If you asked anyone in an educated NBA circle, they would say Lowry is the better defender, and arguably the best defensive point guard left in the playoffs.

Individual defensive stats show that Lowry’s always in the right place at the right time, and has elite hustle. Of players with more than 20 minutes per game, he’s second in the playoffs in charges taken, fifth in deflections and second in loose balls recovered. Bledsoe is considerably lower in all three categories, albeit with considerably lower usage as well.

With all of Lowry’s offensive struggles from long-range, he is still tied for third with Giannis in plus/minus over the course of the playoffs, and this could only come from his work on the defensive end. His tenacity coupled with elite BBIQ (basketball IQ) make him an invaluable member of the Raptors lineup and solidify the claims of him being one of the best defensive PG’s in the league.

In the last five minutes of Game 7, he was an absolute dog on the perimeter, orchestrating a tenacious Raptor defense and switching onto multiple Philly wings and big’s, even stripping Joel Embiid in the post with the clock winding down, before a suspect Ibaka foul.

Bledsoe is definitely no slouch on defense. In the Eastern Semi’s he had the highest DEFRtg and second highest DEF Win shares among all players with over 20 minutes per game. Bledsoe possesses great lateral quickness and defensive versatility on the perimeter, and can really get into players. But Lowry’s all-star value comes from what he provides on the other side of the ball.

A notable moment was in Philly’s final possession out of the timeout, Serge Ibaka tried to pick up Simmons full court. Lowry, realizing this could potentially unlock a transition opportunity for Ben as he can beat Ibaka down the court, ordered Ibaka back down the court like a general commanding a corporal. Heads up play like this makes Lowry the absolute dog of a defender he is.

Bledsoe may be younger, more athletic and more efficient, but Lowry’s grit, BBIQ and raw tenacity on both ends make him the best PG in this series.