Kyle Lowry has the floor

The note that began, can also destroy.

“Lowry on floor.”

After that jot, a bunch of scratches about passwork, trust on offense, the nonsense I usually stick the word “alacrity” into later.

Quick decisions! Room for alternate reads! More basketball shit, then, again:

“Lowry diving.”

Notes about transition defense, baskets being taken away, baskets becoming earned, and then the first repeated note of the evening:

“Lowry on floor.”

More and more notes, pages of them. Critical, enduring moments bled into blue reminders on a legal pad. Gobs of information, scratched together in a desperate bid to lend recall to thought, yet all I’m seeing is the last note, repeated once again:

“Lowry on floor.”

(He was on the floor more than four times in Game 6. My notes aren’t great.)

Lowry made 44 percent of his threes in the 2018 postseason, he made more than half his field goals and 22-35 of his looks in the first three contests (the ones with a whiff of a chance) of Toronto’s Eastern semifinal loss to LeBron’s Cavaliers.

It wasn’t Kyle’s fault that Jonas Valanciunas couldn’t time his jumps, it wasn’t his call to keep LeBron in the Eastern Conference for so damn long, but they traded his best friend and most talented teammate last summer.

Nothing’s ever been settled for Lowry. Not until Saturday.

He wasn’t drafted into the perfect stall, he wasn’t blessed with a Dr. J or Bobby Jones to bang with right out of college. He won’t get the same treatment that Maurice Cheeks earned for ably outplaying the outclassed Henry Bibby, the same Hall of Fame confirmation that Cheeks cultivated for doing exactly what his really good teams demanded for a decade.

Lowry hasn’t had the same outfits to deal with since he was drafted by Memphis in 2006. A decade ago he was third-most famous player (Rafer Alston, Brian Cook) inside a three-player deal that gifted Alston with a trip to Orlando and the NBA Finals.

The draft pick he was dealt outta Memphis for (DeMarre Carroll) went on to be a co-Player of the Month on the East’s top seed in 2016. Memphis mainstay Mike Conley’s made many more millions than Kyle Lowry since 2010, this trend will continue through 2021. Lowry literally lost his starting job in Houston due to illness before catching on with the Raptors.

Lowry’s lived with the ignominy that hits when yours is the threshold that James Dolan refuses to breach: Dolan’s Knicks sent a lottery pick to Toronto in exchange for Andrea Bargnani in the summer of 2013 yet refused to do the same for the 27-year old Lowry a few months later.

He’s a natural irritant on the court, it’s the only thing that comes easy to him. The trust took forever, Lowry had some coaches to row with, and LeBron took ages to finally accept his lame-o destiny in Los Angeles.

Everything pinned on 2018-19, but then Lowry had to watch as Kawhi Leonard sat enough contests to hand Milwaukee its home court. Kyle shot worse than 40 percent against Philadelphia in the semifinals, he missed 29-39 threes, to our uncultured eyes there appeared no breakthrough.

Kyle’s the one that reminded us that these things rarely come 42-points atta time. We should have paid more attention to the way he settled his Raptors to begin Game 4. Deep in Philadelphia, Lowry’s hometown, with Toronto performing under a 2-1 deficit.

Lowry leapt into seven points and three assists in his first eight minutes of action against the Sixers, checking out for a blow after dragging his team to a 21-11 lead. When PHILA popped its strongest bids in the third quarter — an 8-0 run, three free throws at a trip for J.J. Redick — Lowry and Leonard answered with jumpers. Good ones, the kind you wanna stand and watch go through.

He had legs, yet we didn’t recognize nearly enough gam. Lowry’s Game 1 performance in Milwaukee was treated as a one-off. Meyers Leonard earned more lasting credibility for his freaky first half against Golden State.

None of us saw the star swinging again and it didn’t, not even when Lowry popped 25 in Game 4. Free throws feel different than field goals, we gotta see Kyle splash sometimes to believe in it.

What goes with the fall returns with the spring. Finally.

THIS DATE IN NBA PLAYOFF HISTORY

(1993: Seattle downs Phoenix 103-99 in Game 2 of the Western finals, tying the series.)

Seattle needed seven games to down the Lakers in the second round, the team had no time to recover before the Western finals and looked sluggish in its Game 1 defeat.

SuperSonics coach George Karl was pressed for explanation as to why his SuperSonics dared shoot 42 percent in Game 1.

New York Times columnist Tom Friend referred to Ricky Pierce’s 3-8 showing — 42 percent, by the way — as “horrid” and Seattle’s coach was bemused in response:

“The air density here has us shooting the ball shorter, how's that? Man, who gives a hoot. Let's get Larry Bird to come out; maybe he can analyze our releases.”

Friend also somehow managed to crib Karl’s shootaround notes, passing along for public consumption:

Not far from Karl's lap was a tan folder, containing his scribbled notes for this afternoon's pep talk. On it, he listed four keys to Game 2 success:

*Penetration. If point guard Gary Payton can weave past Suns guard Kevin Johnson, he can flick the ball back outside to wide-open Pierce and Eddie Johnson.

*Transition. The Sonics do not want to walk the ball upcourt.

*Good basketball decisions. Payton, more than anyone, attempts ghastly passes.

*They are soft. “We must be the aggressor,” Karl wrote. “Bodies. Tougher position. Physical. They want loose and quick.”

A night earlier Barkley was feted at Majerle’s, the Mr. Pubb’s-styled sports bar that Friend hilariously called “pretentious” in his Game 2 lead up.

The votes were in, Barkley was the 1992-93 NBA MVP, he’d receive the award just before Game 2 tipped:

Seattle responded in Game 2 by unleashing their Ricky, 34 points on 13-20 from the floor, while Sam Perkins’ stretched-three with under 10 seconds to go clinched it. Tom Friend wrote a fantastic gamer that you should also open in an incognito window.

The press asked Barkley what he would do with his new award:

“Well, my daughter got my gold medal,” Barkley said. “I got no trophies at home. My family fights over all of them. My grandmother's got most, and my mom one or two. I mean, I don't want to sit around every day and think about what I've accomplished. Life doesn't stop. Yesterday, I got m.v.p, and today Seattle doesn't give a hoot.”

Seattle had no hoots to give.

BELIEVE IN IT

I take a lot from this tune! You would too, if you’ve seen what I’ve seen.

Thank you for reading, listening, don’t you want to try this with the Finals and NBA draft?

(More to come.)