MAY 10: Lowry has been ruled out for Game 5, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said that the point guard didn’t need another MRI and is considered day-to-day (Twitter link via Friedell).
MAY 9: Kyle Lowry re-injured his left hamstring during the Heat‘s loss at Philadelphia Sunday night and may not be ready to play when the series resumes Tuesday, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.
Lowry didn’t provide specifics on when the injury happened, but he went to the locker room during the second quarter to have it examined. He didn’t play at all during the final 9:42 of the game.
“Put it this way, you don’t want to play with it,” Lowry told reporters. “But we’re in a situation in the playoffs where we’re in a hostile environment, we’re in this together no matter what. Just trying to be out there for my guys, no matter what happens, no matter what the situation is.”
Lowry plans to get treatment before Game 5 and then “go from there.” He added that he doesn’t expect to need another MRI, but sounded uncertain about his chances to play on Tuesday.
“We’ll see,” Lowry said. “… Tough timing for a hamstring. I’ve never had a soft tissue [injury]. This goal is to be out there. So if you’re asking if I’m gonna try and play, yes, I’ll be trying to play Game 5.”
Lowry originally hurt the hamstring during Game 3 of the first-round series against the Hawks and wasn’t able to return until Friday night. He played 25 minutes in his first game back, but went scoreless while missing all four of his shots from the field. He was on the court for 30 minutes Sunday, posting six points, three rebounds and seven assists.
Friedell notes that Lowry was having difficulty moving after Sunday’s game, and the Heat may have to survive without him in a series that’s now deadlocked at 2-2.
“That’s still not going to give us an excuse to not win these games,” Jimmy Butler said. “Like I said, I want Kyle Lowry on the floor. He’s our starting PG. But if he can’t go, some big shoes to fill, but somebody’s got to do it … For sure if Kyle’s not out there, it’s going to have to be me to get it done.”
It’s a shame that Lowry is injured, but it is better for him to recover than being a hinderance on the flow of offense. The Heat’s roster has enough depth in the guard slot to pull off a win against the Sixers, depending on Embiid and Harden’s starpower.
The problem isn’t so much Harden as it is Embiid being great and us having had problems with size ever since the 2020 NBA Finals.
Could also be the disparity between strip clubs in Miami and Philly. Little better in Miami.
Then tell your players to stay out of them.
But I do get what you mean.
Home teams have advantage. Philly players come to Miami and see the hot strippers because they’ve never seen that in the Philly strip clubs. The Miami players go to Philly and see the yeti because they’ve never seen that in the Miami strip clubs.
So Sixers looked disinterested bc of Miami strip clubs? Humor I assume, or, an excuse that describes the Sixer appproach last night. (As if…)
Jimmy Butler however looked great and must be feeling that way:
“For sure if Kyle’s not out there, it’s going to have to be me to get it done.”
Booyah!
Sports fans and news outlets refuse to give the Heat any credit for probably just being better than those teams up there.
Heat have gotten no respect all season long.
WHY did he even play in game 3-4????? He’a not 100% and should be resting….
Heat need Lowry vs either Boston or Milwaukee, so him being hurt might mean it doesnt matter if they get past philly…and with the rotations they’ve used during the series, they dont seem to want to advance anyway
I’d love to see the Marcus Smart, Kyle Lowry matchup. Veterans going at it in playoff time. Then Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum would be epic as well. Not sure how the East semi’s will work out but time will tell.
Woth everyone healthy, I would have said Boston had a better matchup vs the Heat before they made the trades they made. As for Milwaukee, it depends on what rotations both teams use. That being said, the Heat absolutely need Lowry against both, unless Oladipo literally just becomes prime D-Wade as his replacement
It’s time to retire
Yeah, I think he is probably gonna keep playing and collect the 57M owed him over the next two seasons.
Just a guess.