Kyle Lowry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Series Win, Butler, Lowry, Oladipo, Robinson

April 27th, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Despite missing Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, the Heat closed out their first-round series on Tuesday, defeating the Hawks and securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They’ll face either Philadelphia or Toronto in the second round.

As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, the story of the first-round win was Miami’s defense simply performing better than Atlanta’s high-octane offense. After averaging 28.4 points per game on 46.0% shooting during the regular season, Trae Young put up just 15.4 PPG on 31.9% shooting in five playoff games vs. the Heat. Young, who made 22 field goals and had 30 assists in the series while turning the ball over 30 times, couldn’t seem to get going no matter who was defending him.

“They’re a good defensive team,” Young said, per Chiang. “Their team is more of a system than who they have on their team, and no matter who they have out there, they can play. It’s about their system. Their defensive system is all about helping.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Miami’s second-round series won’t begin until next Monday, so Butler (right knee inflammation) and Lowry (left hamstring strain) will have a few days to try to get ready for Game 1. The hope is that both will be available, according to Chiang. “The next couple days while we just watch what’s going on, I just want everybody living in the training room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Tuesday’s win. “Go back to our cave, bandage up, hopefully get healthy and then see what happens in that series. But definitely the guys have earned a couple days of just quality rest and treatment.”
Following the Heat’s Game 4 win, Butler and Victor Oladipo both laughed off a Skip Bayless claim that Butler hates playing with Oladipo (Twitter links via Brady Hawk of 5 Reasons Sports and Chiang). “I’m always the bad guy,” Butler said. “That’s okay. Bad guys are welcome here in the Miami Heat organization. … I love my guys.” Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald referred to the rumor as “baseless” (Twitter link).
Oladipo’s recent emergence has further diminished Duncan Robinson‘s role and raised more questions about Robinson’s future in Miami, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger published his article prior to Game 5, but Tuesday’s performances only strengthened his thesis — Oladipo had 23 points, while Robinson went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting in 13 minutes.

Heat’s Kyle Lowry Out For Game 5

April 25th, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry will miss a second consecutive game due to his left hamstring strain, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The team has ruled out Lowry for Game 5 in Miami on Tuesday.

Lowry, who injured his hamstring in Game 3, also sat out Game 4 on Sunday, but the Heat didn’t miss a beat without him. Gabe Vincent stepped into the starting five in Lowry’s place, while Victor Oladipo entered the rotation. Neither player had a huge game, but Vincent was a plus-19 and Oladipo was a plus-28 in Miami’s 110-86 victory over Atlanta. They’ll likely continue to play key roles as long as Lowry remains on the shelf.

As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald notes (via Twitter), Lowry’s hamstring strain is the sort of injury that would sideline him for at least a week – if not more – during the regular season. While the 36-year-old would certainly love to be back as soon as possible, the Heat won’t rush him back now that they have a 3-1 series lead over the Hawks.

The Heat have also listed P.J. Tucker (calf) and Caleb Martin (ankle) as questionable for Tuesday’s game, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Heat’s Kyle Lowry To Miss Game 4

April 24th, 2022 at 4:49pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat star Kyle Lowry will miss Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against the Hawks on Sunday due to his left hamstring strain, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Lowry suffered the injury in Game 3 on Friday and was ruled out for the rest of the game entering the fourth quarter.

“The training staff determined he wasn’t going to be able to play tonight,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, as relayed by Winderman.

Lowry received around-the-clock treatment and had hoped to play. His status for Game 5 on Tuesday is still unclear.

Without Lowry, the Heat lost the fourth quarter 34-25 in Game 3. His defense and passing have been important for the team, though his scoring production has been modest through three games. He’s averaged 8.3 points in 29.7 minutes, shooting 35% overall.

Miami is shallow at point guard, meaning Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will likely take on more ball-handling and play-making responsibilities. The team also has backup point guard Gabe Vincent available and could turn to Victor Oladipo, who only appeared in eight games during the regular season and has yet to play in the postseason.

Injury Notes: Doncic, Williams, Lowry, Capela

April 23rd, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Playing Saturday for the first time in nearly two weeks, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic showed no ill effects from his strained left calf, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic logged 34 minutes, resting halfway through the first and third quarters. He posted 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and hit a late three-pointer to give Dallas a four-point lead before the Jazz rallied to win.

“I’m just excited to be back,” Doncic said. “I had fun out there, just having fun playing basketball. What could be better than in the playoffs? The playoffs are the most exciting, so I’m just glad to be back.”

Doncic admitted feeling winded during stretches of the game — MacMahon notes that Utah targeted him defensively, especially in the first half. However, Doncic said the calf didn’t slow him down.

“At the beginning, I was just thinking about it a little bit,” he said. “I think in the middle of the game I kind of forgot about it.”

There are more injury-related items to pass along:

There was also good news for the Celtics tonight as center Robert Williams returned for the first time since a meniscus tear on March 27. Williams played 16 minutes and said his knee didn’t hurt after the game (video link from Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
There’s “cautious optimism” from people close to Heat guard Kyle Lowry that the left hamstring injury he suffered Friday isn’t serious, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Lowry didn’t practice with the team today, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN, and was walking “gingerly.” A source close to Lowry tells McMenamin that the injury is day to day, but Lowry said he is monitoring it “hourly.” Miami’s injury report lists him as questionable for Game 4, which will take place Sunday night. Gabe Vincent or Tyler Herro would likely start at point guard if Lowry isn’t available, Chang states.
The Hawks have upgraded center Clint Capela to questionable for Sunday’s game, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that his status may be a game-time decision. Capela hasn’t played since suffering a hyperextended right knee in an April 15 play-in game.

Heat’s Kyle Lowry Suffers Left Hamstring Injury

April 22nd, 2022 at 9:36pm CST by Rory Maher

9:36: Head coach Erik Spoelstra said Lowry has a hamstring injury of unknown severity and will undergo additional testing on Saturday, per the team (Twitter link).

9:01pm: Heat point guard Kyle Lowry suffered a left leg injury in the third quarter of Game 3 against the Hawks on Friday night, which caused him to leave the game and not return, the team announced (via Twitter).

As John Hollinger of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), Atlanta forward De’Andre Hunter landed on Lowry’s foot while the two were away from the ball, causing the guard to hop off the court. It’s unclear at this time if the injury will impact his availability going forward, but the fact that he had to leave the game early isn’t a great sign.

Lowry is in his first season with Miami after a hugely successful nine-season stint with Toronto. He’s a six-time All-Star and won a championship with the Raptors in 2019.

In 63 regular season games this season (33.9 minutes), the 36-year-old averaged 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.1 steals with a .440/.377/.851 shooting slash line. Those numbers have dipped a bit through the first two games of the Miami/Atlanta playoff series, with Lowry averaging 9.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.5 BPG on .375/.300/.800 shooting.

With Lowry potentially sidelined, Miami will likely rely on backups Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent for additional minutes and play-making duties.

The Heat ultimately lost a nail-biter to the Hawks in Game 3, 111-110. Miami now leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Sunday in Atlanta.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Robinson, Lowry

April 18th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat center Bam Adebayo is listed as questionable for Game 2 against the Hawks on Tuesday due to a quad contusion, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. After being cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols, Adebayo finished Sunday’s game with six points, six rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. However, coach Erik Spoelstra said Adebayo played a giant role in the team’s victory, Vardon writes.

“Who (cares) about his scoring,” Spoelstra said. “Bam is an ultimate winner. A lot of what you guys are probably going to write about what we can do defensively; he’s the one that’s driving it. If you don’t have a guy like Bam, you know, it’s very difficult to do some of the schemes, and he fully understands that.”

We have more on the Heat:

Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Suns guard Mikal Bridges and Celtics guard Marcus Smart were the finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award and Adebayo was upset he did not make the list, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Smart won the award and Adebayo finished fourth in the voting, receiving 13 out of 100 first-place votes. “Disrespectful, honestly,” he said. “I feel like I can do anything that two out of the three can do besides the fact that I can’t teach height. But they all three play on TV more than me, so I would expect that. They get more TV games and they get more exposure. People like to talk about them more. Nobody wants to talk about us. So it’s whatever at that point.”
Duncan Robinson, who scored 27 points in Game 1, admits it was tough to lose his starting job last month, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. “We’re all competitive,” said Robinson, who is in the first year of a five-year, $90MM contract. “I take a lot of pride in doing my job to the best of my ability. At the end of the day, there’s disappointment but you sacrifice and give in to what’s most important to this group. The focus quickly shifts to how can I embrace the role I do have and contribute to winning and help us advance?”
Kyle Lowry brought a championship pedigree from Toronto and knows how difficult it is to win a title, Vardon writes. “Me getting a championship just made me want another championship,” Lowry said. “It made me understand that it’s hard to get there. It takes some skill, it takes hard work, it takes some luck. It takes a lot of things to go your way to win a championship. I’ve lost a bunch of game 1s and won series. I won a couple Game 1s and lost the series. It’s just, you’ve got to be able to stay even keel no matter what.”

Southeast Notes: Heat, Young, Bridges, Wizards

April 17th, 2022 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

After being swept in the first round last season, the Heat added three players in free agency who have won championships, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. P.J. Tucker, who was part of the Bucks’ title team last season, Markieff Morris, who got a ring with the Lakers in 2020, and Kyle Lowry, who won with the Raptors in 2019, all brought plenty of playoff experience to Miami.

They joined a roster that includes Udonis Haslem, who has won three titles, and five other holdovers from the Heat team that reached the Finals in 2020. The experience and mental toughness needed to get to that level helped Miami emerge from a crowded field to grab the No. 1 seed in the East.

“It’s a high that you’re chasing,” Lowry said. “You want to get back to that high and you want to stay at that high. When you win one, you want that high right away. You want that high, it’s a high you can’t match. I’m just being honest. It’s still there, that fire is burning. I’m just chasing that high right now.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Heat’s biggest challenge in the first round will be finding a way to control Hawks star Trae Young, Chiang adds. Miami typically uses a variety of defenders against Young and mixes up its coverages to make him less comfortable. “He’s one of the most dynamic point guards we have in our league now,” Lowry said. “You just have to know that he’s going to do some spectacular things. But we do have to wear on him, make things a little bit tougher, however that is.”
Miles Bridges wants to remain with the Hornets, but the team faces a lot of questions this summer about how to build its roster, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. There should be significant demand for Bridges, who will be a restricted free agent once Charlotte extends a $7.9MM qualifying offer, and the organization has to decide how many of its young players it wants to make a long-term investment in. “Charlotte has really taken me in and brought me in,” Bridges said. “I got drafted as a 20-year-old kid. And for me to grow up here and for everybody to embrace me like they have, that’s something I’ll never forget. Especially going into the contract season.”
Injuries were a year-long concern for the Wizards, but coach Wes Unseld Jr. believes the team has a solid foundation in place, per Bijan Todd of NBC Sports Washington. “Obviously the health factor is something that we can’t necessarily control, but if we come back healthy…I think we’re setting ourselves up for a pretty bright future,” Unseld Jr. said.

Raptors Notes: Playoffs, VanVleet, Trent Jr., Lowry

April 5th, 2022 at 10:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Following Cleveland’s loss to Orlando, the Raptors beat the Hawks by a score of 118-108 on Tuesday night, clinching a playoff berth as a top-six seed in the East, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. After the game, coach Nick Nurse indicated he would rest Fred VanVleet, who’s been hampered by a sore right knee since before the All-Star break.

“He obviously is not 100 percent but he’s lacing them up and giving everything he’s got…I give him a lot of credit,” Nurse said (Twitter link via Michael Grange of Sportsnet).

Nurse also suggested he’d rest other banged-up players in the final three games, Grange tweets. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports observes (via Twitter), one additional benefit of making the playoffs outright is the team will get an extra six days rest between the final regular season game and its first playoff game, which could be crucial for injured players like VanVleet and OG Anunoby (quad), among others.

Here’s more on Toronto:

The Bulls fell to the Bucks on Tuesday, so the Raptors hold a one-game lead for the No. 5 seed in the East. Both teams have three games remaining, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker due to a better head-to-head record. Toronto closes its schedule with games against the Sixers, Rockets and Knicks, while Chicago faces the Celtics, Hornets and Wolves, per Lewenberg (Twitter link).
Gary Trent Jr. earned a couple of $75K bonuses recently — one for the team winning 45 games, and another for making the playoffs, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. If the Raptors finish as a top-five seed, Trent will earn another $75K bonus.
Toronto’s roster is undeniably influenced by Kyle Lowry, according to Lewenberg. Eric Koreen of The Athletic makes a similar point, stating that the team has been constructed in the spirit of Lowry. “They play hard every night,” Lowry said before Sunday’s game, his first in Toronto as a member of the Heat. “They’re all over the place. They scramble. They’re athletic. They help each other very well. They don’t give up much. They remind me a lot of just the team that, when we were down 15 in the fourth quarter, we find ways to win games, scrap and claw and find a way, and fight to win a game. That’s what these guys do. There’s never a moment where they just don’t feel like they can’t win the game.”

Eastern Notes: Hayward, Lowry, Barnes, Duarte, Porzingis

April 4th, 2022 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Incorporating Gordon Hayward back into the rotation is a tricky task for Hornets coach James Borrego, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer notes. Hayward missed nearly two months of action due to a foot injury. He had five points, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes against Philadelphia on Saturday.

“Well, it’s a challenge, but that’s my job and I’ll figure it out,” Borrego said. “We’ll take a look at the film, look at the rotations. We’ve got two days now to digest and figure out what we are going to do. … I’ll try to bring some consistency to the lineup and try to communicate that to our group, making sure everybody understands their role and what this rotation is going to look like moving forward.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Heat guard Kyle Lowry is impressed by the lottery pick his former team drafted, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Lowry sees Scottie Barnes as a potential franchise player for the Raptors. “He’s a special talent. He’s going to be a cornerstone of the franchise,” Lowry said. “He fits in perfectly here – how hard he plays, how passionate he is for the game. And he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Pacers rookie Chris Duarte won’t play during the final week of the season, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Duarte hasn’t played since March 15 due to a left big toe injury. Duarte, the 13th pick of last year’s draft, averaged 13.1 PPG in 28 MPG while appearing in 55 games.
The Wizards defeated Dallas on Friday, the first time Kristaps Porzingis played against his former team. Porzingis was grateful for the intensity his new teammates showed, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes. “What I liked is everybody had my back (Friday),” Porzingis said. “They knew it was, I don’t want to say a personal game, but it’s always fun to compete against your former team. Everybody had my back.”

Raptors Notes: Lowry, Nurse, Playoff Rotation, VanVleet

April 2nd, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before returning to Toronto for the first time since signing with the Heat during the offseason, Kyle Lowry wrote a piece for The Players Tribune expressing gratitude to the fans who cheered him during his nine seasons with the Raptors. Sunday night’s game will mark Lowry’s first time in Scotiabank Arena since February 28, 2020, as that season concluded at Disney World and the Raptors played their home games in Tampa, Florida, last year.

In his article, Lowry details the phone call he made to team president Masai Ujiri to break the news that he was leaving and tells Toronto fans that he’s “excited as hell” to play in front of them again.

“I’m excited to be on a court with (Fred VanVleet) and Pascal (Siakam) and OG (Anunoby) again — if Masai is big bro, then those are my little bros, and they’re the guys now, they’re taking over,” Lowry wrote. “And I’m excited to experience that energy of Toronto basketball again. But I also think it might just be a normal night in some ways, you know what I mean? Because regardless of the jersey I’m wearing, a lot still hasn’t changed … and won’t ever change. It’s never going to be a wrap between me and this city. With family, it’s never goodbye.”

There’s more from Toronto:

Lowry played a vital role in reviving the franchise, but the Raptors couldn’t have taken the next step in their development without him leaving, argues Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Lowry’s departure provided an opportunity for Siakam to become the primary ball-handler and it created a full-time role for rookie Scottie Barnes, who is seeing some of his 35 minutes per night at point guard. “We knew we were going to be losing a big leader,” coach Nick Nurse said, “… but for some of the guys that have been around here long enough, we needed them to understand they are the leaders of the team, and it’s up to them to perform and act like that.”
The Raptors’ recent hot streak gives Nurse the freedom to experiment with his rotation ahead of the playoffs, Grange adds in a separate story. In Wednesday’s victory over Minnesota, Precious Achiuwa, who’s shooting over 40% from three-point range since the All-Star break, started the second half in place of Barnes and provided a lot more spacing for the offense.
Lowry may be on hand to watch VanVleet break one of his franchise records, per Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. With 236 three-pointers, VanVleet is only three behind Lowry’s single-season mark.