Think back to roughly four months prior. When questioned about his role with the Miami Heat this year, Kyle Lowry became defensive at the idea of playing more minutes than he did during the team’s championship run the previous year.
At the FAU campus during Heat training camp, he stated, “I expect to start.”
From that point on, Erik Spoelstra, the coach, and point guard Lowry, 37, were frequently questioned about their willingness to come off the bench.
While he was hesitant to do so this season with the Miami Heat, Kyle Lowry looks ready to come off the bench with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite the team’s offensive shortcomings, Lowry did start 36 games before Spoelstra chose to move him off the bench in
This seems to be a significant change in Lowry’s perspective. While Lowry is prepared to play any role and any number of minutes in Philadelphia, he was emphatic about starting in Miami.
However, this is due to a few factors. Remember that Gabe Vincent outperformed Lowry as the starting point guard during the Heat’s run to the Finals last season, so Lowry did choose to come off the bench. The Heat had just two typical point guards on the roster going into training camp: Lowry and the unproven Dru Smith. Vincent signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent last summer. If Lowry took one glance around that locker room and decided to go for it, then it would make sense.
Fans of the Heat are right to be frustrated with how Lowry’s last few weeks were. Since he started playing regularly in 2010, he had the lowest average of points (8.2), field goals attempted (6.5), and assists (4). It was obvious that Miami needed more from him to boost its attack. The Heat moved on because Lowry was unwilling or unable to provide that.
The Heat acquired Lowry in 2021 in exchange for rookie center Precious Achiuwa and fan favorite Goran Dragic. In the Eastern Conference finals, they were defeated in seven games by the Boston Celtics despite having secured the top seed for the 2021–2022 season. As the eighth seed in Miami’s unexpected run to the Finals the previous season, Lowry averaged 26 minutes per game off the bench.
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