Toronto Raptors: Why Kyle Lowry Will Make His First All-Star Appearance

Point guard Kyle Lowry experienced a breakout year with the Toronto Raptors last season. He posted career highs in points, assists and three-point percentage, and he helped lead the Raptors to a third-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Entering this season, Toronto boasts the same group of players who proved pivotal to its success in 2013-14. Lowry is expected to lead as the Raptors attempt to finish in the top three once again.

Barring any sort of significant injury, Lowry not only seems ready to mimic last year's performance but potentially improve upon it.

Consequently, it appears the 1-man has a chance to make the first All-Star appearance of his career.

He's Got Game

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A big reason why Lowry will qualify for the All-Star game is because he can simply ball.

The 28-year-old played to the tune of 17.9 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 36.2 minutes per game last season. While he did shoot a subpar 42.3 percent from the floor, he also hit an impressive 38 percent of his threes.

In addition, the point guard only averaged 2.4 turnovers a game, giving him an exceptional assist-to-turnover ratio of roughly 3.7-1.2.

Whether he uses his quick handles to hit a step-back three or his mixture of exemplary vision and passing accuracy to find an open teammate, Lowry consistently displays his elite offense through multiple aspects of the game.

As far as defense is concerned, the eight-year veteran is exceptional on this end as well. A pesky defender, Lowry constantly keeps his hands active in order to bother opponents and force turnovers. He's also good at containing his man, evidenced by his solid 2013-14 defensive rating of 105.5.

Need more proof of Lowry's talent? Watch the following highlight video to assuage any lingering doubts:

As long as Lowry performs at least similarly to last year, there's no doubt an All-Star bid will serve as a realistic achievement.  

The Boys Are Back in Town

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As mentioned, the main producers from last season's squad are all returning. This includes All-Star DeMar DeRozan, youthful center Jonas Valanciunas and rising shooting guard Terrence Ross, among others.

By playing with this group once again, Lowry has the chance to meet two critical qualifications for the All-Star game: leading a playoff-caliber team and thriving statistically.

Producing above-average numbers is a must for any All-Star. Since Lowry will play alongside multiple offensive weapons in Toronto, he will have no issue putting forth a high number of points and assists on a regular basis.

However, as far as winning goes, not every All-Star is part of a successful ballclub. But when it comes to qualifying for the last few spots on the roster—a position he may find himself in come selection time—the final decision of the 15 Eastern Conference head coaches could lean heavily toward who can win.

And the Raptors will win games. As a leader of this team, Lowry understands it's on him to control the focus night in and night out.

From the 1-man himself, via Jonathan Abrams of Grantland.com:

"

You always ask for a team to be your team, right? Every single night, that team and your teammates are like, All right, you know you need to bring it for everybody else. And if you don’t bring it, they ain’t bringing it. So when you’re the leader, you’ve got to [be] mentally focused every night.

"

Under the point guard's influential, success-motivated guidance, this talented Toronto squad boasts potential to prove itself a top team in the league.

If the Raptors are on track to either match or improve upon last season's 48-34 record, coaches will notice the head of this "ferocious dinosaur." They will be more inclined to name Lowry an Eastern Conference All-Star, and his first appearance will subsequently occur. 

He Competes with the Best

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Of course, in order to earn a spot, Lowry's regular-season performance must match up with the best point guards in the conference. Judging by his numbers last year, this is something the 1-man is capable of accomplishing.

Take a look at his 2013-14 stats compared to John Wall and Kyrie Irving, the two floor generals who played in the All-Star game last season:

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	REB	AST	TO	STL	PTS
Lowry	42.3	38.0	81.3	4.6	7.4	2.4	1.5	17.9
Irving	43.0	35.8	86.1	3.6	6.1	2.6	1.5	20.8
Wall	43.3	35.1	80.5	4.0	8.7	3.6	1.8	19.3

(Note: Keep in mind this doesn't include Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo, as neither player participated in enough games to fully analyze their stats.)

Evidently, Lowry competed at a relatively equal level, even outperforming Irving and Wall in three-point percentage as well as rebounding.

Since the 28-year-old will fill the same role with the Raptors this year, he is expected to produce a similar statistical output. Barring any setbacks, he will have no problem proving his worth alongside Irving and Wall in the East.

The return of Rose and Rondo—who may play opening night despite suffering a broken left hand last month—is critical for Lowry's All-Star chances as well, as both are top-tier point guards when healthy.

Consequently, it's worth examining his 2013-14 production to that of Rondo and Rose in 2011-12, which is the last year both players participated in more than half of the respective season's games:

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	REB	AST	TO	STL	PTS
Lowry	42.3	38.0	81.3	4.6	7.4	2.4	1.5	17.9
Rondo	44.8	23.8	59.7	4.8	11.7	3.6	1.7	11.8
Rose	43.5	31.2	81.2	3.3	7.8	3.0	0.9	21.8

A lot has obviously changed since then—specifically the fact both Rondo and Rose have missed a lot of time—but this still serves as a reliable indicator of how Lowry compares with each.

And clearly, he competes at a somewhat similar level with both of these ballers, too.

The fact of the matter is Lowry ranks among the top point guards in the East. He posts noteworthy numbers and has successfully proven himself a consistent threat.

As a result, an All-Star bid rests easily within reach.

(All stats courtesy of RealGM.com)

Josh Haar is an NBA Contributor for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JHaarNBA.