Kyle Lowry

Heat Notes: Butler, Lowry, Love, Game 5

June 12th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The competitive nature and gruff demeanors of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry brought them together, first as friends and then as teammates, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. They formed a bond as rivals earlier in their careers, and Butler was heavily involved in recruiting Lowry to Miami when he decided to leave Toronto two years ago.

“It wasn’t a pitch,” Lowry recalled. “(It was:) Bring your ass here.”

Kevin Love compares it to having two versions of Oscar the Grouch on the same team, but their shared approach to the game has fit right into the Heat Culture philosophy. Lowry desperately wants to win a title for his friend, and Butler recognizes Lowry’s role in sparking Miami’s run to the NBA Finals.

“Everything he is about is about winning,” Butler said. “Whenever you get with other guys that they’re only about winning, that’s all that matters. It’s not about stats, and about how many shots you get, not about how many stops you get, whatever you’re asked of to do to help the squad win — that’s why we rock with one another.”

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Butler’s commitment to leadership includes specialized pre-game handshake routines with all his teammates, Friedell adds in another ESPN story. They range from the complex to the obscene, but each represents a connection that Butler has with another player. “You’re talking about the journeys that I’ve had with so many different guys,” he said. “It’s all about making us smile, keeping it free flowing, no pressure, you’re not worried about nothing. Just two human beings, two brothers, two teammates, two guys that’s in the trenches together and you just come up with something out of nowhere, but it’s us.”
Love will be ready for Monday’s Game 5 after his wife gave birth to their first child over the weekend, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Love didn’t accompany his teammates on their flight to Denver, but he joined them late Saturday night.
A 3-1 deficit hasn’t dulled the Heat’s competitive instincts, Vardon adds. Coach Erik Spoelstra talked about the team’s situation as the “ultimate challenge,” and Butler said the players remain committed to their dreams of winning a title. “All the odds, 8 seed, dadadadada, nah, none of that matters,” he said. “It’s just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three.”

Heat Notes: Vincent, Strus, Draft Picks, Herro, Lillard

June 10th, 2023 at 5:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s starting backcourt has fallen into a shooting slump at the worst possible time, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Gabe Vincent and Max Strus played vital roles in Miami’s climb from the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals, but they were held to a combined 12 points in the Game 3 and 4 losses while shooting 4-of-27 from the field.

Strus was despondent in the locker room after Friday’s contest, according to Jackson. He missed all four of his shots on a scoreless night and was removed from the game for good with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” he said. “But sitting here and sulking about it is not going to do anything. Got to toughen up and bounce back. Look forward to the next opportunity and try to stay positive.”

Vincent scored a combined 42 points in the two games at Denver, but has managed just nine since the series shifted back to Miami. He shot 3-of-16 over the last two games and got into early foul trouble both times.

“Gabe’s been unbelievable this whole playoff run,” Kyle Lowry said. “Gabe is a tremendous basketball player. Our league is a make-or-miss league, and you have a guy in Jimmy Butler who is going to continue to pump confidence into him. I’m going to pump confidence into him. He’s going to come out and have a great game in Game 5.”

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Miami could have up to four first-round picks to trade this summer, which would be the most in several years, Jackson adds. He notes that the Heat could give themselves extra flexibility by working out an agreement with the Thunder to waive the lottery protections on the selection that Miami owes to OKC in 2025 or 2026.
The Heat have shown that they can succeed without Tyler Herro, who has been injured for nearly the entirety of their playoff run, and Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel states that it should be much easier to trade Herro than it was last offseason. The poison pill restriction in Herro’s contract will expire at the end of the month, meaning his salary will be counted as $27MM for trade purposes, rather than the $5.7MM he’s currently earning on his rookie contract. Winderman points out that Herro’s $130MM extension kicks in next season, and any team that trades for him will have him under contract for the next four years.
Team president Pat Riley should be aggressive about trying to acquire Damian Lillard from the Trail Blazers this summer, argues Manny Navarro of The Athletic. Earlier this week, Lillard listed the Heat as one of his preferred destinations if he does get traded.

Heat Notes: Butler, Lowry, Herro, Two-Way Players

June 9th, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been unfailingly honest when explaining how important winning his first title would be to him, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.

“That’s why everybody plays this game — I lied, that’s why a lot of people play this game — is to win a championship,” Butler told Friedell. “That’s all we lock in on; that’s all we’re focused on. Like we put so much energy towards winning and playing for one another that if we do this together, we get to celebrate this together, we’re like, I don’t know the word, itched, niched, we made our mark in history together forever, so we’re in that.”

The well-traveled All-Star seems to have a found a long-term home in Miami, and is hoping to finally cement his legacy with his second Finals appearance in his fourth season with the club.

“I’m happy I get to do it [compete for a title] with these guys,” Butler said. “And I’m still very grateful for day one in the Berto Center [with the Bulls] and the Mayo Clinic [facility with the Timberwolves] and whatever the 76ers’ [facility is called]; I’m grateful for all those opportunities that’s getting me here to know what I got to do to get it done.”

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Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has adjusted well to his new role as a reserve following a return from a knee injury, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “It’s about being a pro,” Lowry said. “It’s about winning, honestly. It’s easy when you have [ground] to get to a starter. I wasn’t always a starter. So, I understand the role, how important that is. And, for me, being a professional and being a guy that only cares about winning, it makes it easy, honestly.” Lowry’s relatively modest statistical output in these playoffs belies the true value of his impact, especially as a defensive pest against Denver’s backcourt.
Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro, the team’s third-leading scorer in the regular season, has missed all but one half of the club’s run to the Finals this year due to a fractured right hand. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Herro has not been cleared for Game 4 on Friday night, and remains listed as out. “Right now he is not cleared to take that next step,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has checked every box so far, but he is not at that next step yet to clear for an NBA Finals game. But he is doing everything he needs to do to take these next step.” Miami, currently lagging 2-1 behind Denver in the Finals, is certainly missing his skills as a play-maker and as a shooter both off the dribble and off the catch, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.
While two-way Heat players Jamal Cain and Orlando Robinson have been ineligible to suit up for the team during the playoffs, the duo is still getting invaluable experience in sharing the postseason moment with the rest of the team, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It’s been great to see this championship level team and being able to recognize the standard and what it means to win,” Cain said. “This being my first year, being able to see this and experience this is something that’s going to make me better and I think it’s going to raise my standard for each year because having this feeling of being around this type of environment is unbelievable.” Center Robinson played in 31 games for Miami this season, while Cain, a 6’6″ swingman, appeared in 18 contests for the Heat. Both players logged more significant minutes with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Celtics/Heat Notes: Game 6, Brogdon, Vincent, Lowry, White

May 27th, 2023 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

Even if the Celtics don’t end up completing their comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals, they can put the Heat in an unprecedented position by winning Game 6 on Saturday, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.

As Murray details, of the 150 NBA teams to fall behind by a 3-0 margin in a best-of-seven playoff series, only three forced a Game 7, and all three of those clubs had to play Game 7 on the road. If the Celtics can win Game 6 tonight in Miami, they’ll head back to Boston for Game 7 and become the first team in league history to attempt to win a series at home after losing the first three games.

The Heat have shown an ability to win playoff games away from home, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic, noting that Jimmy Butler scored 47 points to lead Miami to a victory in Boston in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago. Still, Butler and the Heat face significant pressure to finish off the series on Saturday to avoid having to go back on the road to win a Game 7.

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Despite losses in Games 4 and 5, Butler remains optimistic about the Heat’s ability to finish off the Celtics and earn a spot in the NBA Finals, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “Because the last two games are not who we are,” Butler said after Thursday’s loss when asked why he’s still so confident. “It just happened to be that way. We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn’t make shots that we want to make. But that’s easily correctable. You just have to come out and play harder from the jump. Like I always say, it’s going to be all smiles, and we are going to keep it very, very, very consistent, knowing that we are going to win next game.”
Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, who left Game 5 in the second half due to what was referred to at the time as right forearm soreness, is listed as questionable to play in Game 6 with a forearm strain. The banged-up veteran is already reportedly playing through a partially torn tendon in his right elbow.
Like Brogdon, Heat point guard Gabe Vincent is considered questionable to play on Saturday, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Vincent missed Game 5 due to a left ankle sprain, forcing Kyle Lowry to reenter the starting lineup for the first time in this postseason. Lowry was effective in the first two rounds but has struggled against the Celtics, averaging just 4.3 points and 4.0 assists per game on 29.2% shooting in the last four games.
Celtics guard Derrick White helped lift Boston to a Game 5 win with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting (including 6-of-8 three-pointers). Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a look at how White’s career night was rooted in a message from his father, and passes along several quotes from White’s teammates that reflect their appreciation for him.

Southeast Notes: Lowry, Heat, Hawks, Lang, Wizards

May 12th, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Heat explored the trade market for Kyle Lowry at the trade deadline, teams reportedly sought at least one first-round pick just to take on the veteran guard, who is on a pricey multiyear contract and was dealing with a knee injury at the time. But Lowry is rebuilding his value with his performance so far in the postseason, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Four years removed from being the starting point guard on a Toronto team that won a championship, Lowry has accepted a bench role during this season’s playoffs and has registered no complaints, having told reporters that as long as the Heat are winning, he doesn’t care what his role is.

“He is an ultimate winner,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So what drives him more than anything is winning. And there were just unfortunate circumstances how we got to this. His injury shut him down for five weeks and the plan, as we’ve talked about quite a bit, it just made the most sense initially to bring him off the bench.

“And then it just got so late, we didn’t have a lot of time. He’s been fantastic about it. One of the things we found, you’re bringing a Hall of Fame mind off the bench. And our second unit was struggling for much of the year. You shift him into there, a lot of these things that we were working on endlessly just kind of get taken care of.”

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Brian Lewis of The New York Post takes a look at how the Heat‘s ability to turn undrafted players into rotation pieces has helped the team withstand injuries and given Miami an advantage in its second-round series vs. New York. As Lewis notes, the Heat have seven undrafted players on their roster, the most of any team in the playoffs.
The Hawks will hire Antonio Lang as one of Quin Snyder‘s lead assistant coaches, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). A Cavaliers assistant for the last four seasons, Lang previously worked on Snyder’s staff in Utah from 2014-19.
If the Wizards were to win Tuesday’s draft lottery and the rights to French phenom Victor Wembanyama, it wouldn’t just change the direction of the franchise — it would alter the entire D.C. sports landscape, according to David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. While Wembanyama wouldn’t necessarily make the Wizards an instant contender, he’d provide much-needed hope for a “depressed fan base,” The Athletic’s duo writes.

Heat Notes: Martin, Lowry, Herro, Defense

May 8th, 2023 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Caleb Martin is listed as questionable for Monday’s Game 4 with a back contusion, but there’s little doubt that he’ll be ready when the Heat call on him, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Martin was also questionable on Saturday after hurting his back when he slid into the Knicks’ bench while chasing a loose ball in Game 2. He managed to play 23 minutes, even though he was seen grabbing his back in pain a few times.

“You kind of got to,” Martin said. “I think you don’t really have a choice. We’re going to do everything in our power, especially me. If you can play and if you can go, then that’s what you got to do. It’s that point of the season, everybody is banged up.”

Chiang notes that Martin missed 10 regular season games due to injuries, but nine of those were concentrated in a 14-game stretch starting in mid-December. Coach Erik Spoelstra indicated that even when Martin was most banged up, the team “had to take that decision out of his hands” to prevent him from trying to play.

“He’s such a competitor,” Spoelstra said. “He doesn’t want to miss time and he doesn’t have an off button except for like off the court, he’s pretty chill. It’s a pretty good balance he has there. But once he steps in between those four lines, he’s a savage competitor. That’s what we love about him.”

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Kyle Lowry has become a valuable part of the Heat’s reserve unit since Spoelstra decided to bring him off the bench when he returned in March after sitting out time with knee pain, per William Guillory of The Athletic. Lowry had started 677 straight games when he was active, but he was so effective in the new role that it became permanent. “One of the things we’ve found is you’re bringing a Hall-of-Fame mind off the bench,” Spoelstra said. “Our second unit was struggling for much of the year. Shift him (to the bench) and a lot of the things we were working on endlessly just kind of get taken care of. … He is an ultimate winner. What drives him more than anything is winning.”
Tyler Herro could also find himself in a reserve role if the Heat are able to keep playing long enough for him to return from a broken right hand, suggests Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Herro underwent surgery April 21 and is expected to be sidelined until early June.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines how the Heat’s defense has shut down the Knicks through the first three games of their series, holding them to 99.3 PPG on 42.1% shooting from the field.

Heat Notes: Butler, Strus, Adebayo, Brooks

May 3rd, 2023 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

A three-day break will give a few injured Heat players some time to heal, and the team is cautiously optimistic that Jimmy Butler will be available for Saturday afternoon’s Game 3, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Butler suffered a sprained right ankle in the fourth quarter of the series opener and was a late scratch for Tuesday’s contest.

“His body will let you know, me know, him know, the team know,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There’s no way to predict it. But I’m glad we have a couple extra days.”

Miami is already playing without Tyler Herro, who suffered a broken right hand in the first-round series, and Victor Oladipo, who is out for the rest of the playoffs with a torn patellar tendon. Chiang states that Bam Adebayo is dealing with a strained left hamstring that has bothered him for most of the playoffs and Kyle Lowry is still experiencing pain in his left knee.

“Most of the year, we played every other day,” Gabe Vincent said. “So any time we get an extra day off, you take advantage of it. We’re looking forward to it. I know a lot of guys have kids and families and I’m happy they get some time to spend with them during this stressful time. But we’ll recuperate, get some treatment, rehab, whatever guys need and we’re looking forward to Game 3.”

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Max Strus had to leave Game 2 for a while with a lower back contusion, but he was able to return and doesn’t expect it to affect him for the rest of the series, Chiang adds. “I just fell on it, a little bruise,” he said. “It will be good to wait until Saturday.”
Adebayo took the blame for Tuesday’s loss, Chiang states in another Miami Herald story. Miami’s center had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but he only scored two points and pulled down one rebound in the fourth quarter. “I just got to play better,” Adebayo told reporters. “I feel like this game was on me and I lost it for us. I got to be better.”
The Heat might have some interest in signing Grizzlies free agent Dillon Brooks if they can get him at a “bargain basement price,” Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated speculated in an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype).

Heat Notes: Love, Lowry, Roster, Oladipo

May 2nd, 2023 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

While Kevin Love admits that he thought he was a “collision course” with his old team in the second round of the playoffs, he didn’t derive any extra pleasure from seeing the Cavaliers sent home while his Heat advanced, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. As Love explains, he holds no ill will toward the Cavs — he sought a buyout simply because he wanted to have the sort of role that he no longer had in Cleveland.

“I think more than anything I just wanted to I want to be a part of it,” he said. “I wanted to be out there. I felt like I could be productive and help win more than just being a great vet and then helping those guys along. Because I still love those guys. I’m still on the group chat with them. But definitely know I have a lot more to give and just wanted to play.”

Love gave up a little money to secure his release from the fourth-seeded Cavs and confirms he considered joining the third-seeded Sixers before signing with the Heat, who ultimately claimed the No. 8 spot in the East. The move down the standings was somewhat unusual for a veteran on the buyout market, but Miami’s postseason success so far has vindicated Love’s decision.

“You always talk about culture, but until you get here, it’s pretty eye-opening that its level of professionalism is not really rivaled anywhere else,” Love said of the Heat. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

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Both Love (nine points, five rebounds, four assists) and veteran point guard Kyle Lowry (18 points, six assists, four blocks) turned back the clock with their performances in Miami’s Game 1 win over New York, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Lowry’s two years in Miami have been up and down – he has missed significant time due to injuries and personal matters – but his teammates believe in his ability to come up big in the postseason. “(Lowry) is a winner. He’s our leader, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench,” Jimmy Butler said on Sunday. “He’s a champion, and he’s been doing a great job for us all year long and since he’s been here. He’s one of the engines that helps us go, and we’re going to ride that wave.”
As the Heat look to become the second ever No. 8 seed to make it to the conference finals, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explores whether the team’s roster was built specifically for playoff success.
With Victor Oladipo‘s availability for next season up in the air as a result of his left knee injury, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald wonders whether waiving and stretching Oladipo’s 2023/24 salary ($9.45MM, assuming he exercises his player option) will be something the Heat seriously consider this summer.

Heat Notes: Oladipo, Butler, Love, Adebayo, Lowry

April 28th, 2023 at 4:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Guard Victor Oladipo underwent successful surgery on Thursday to repair the torn patellar tendon in his left knee, the Heat announced (via Twitter). There’s no recovery timeline yet, per the team.

While that’s the official stance, there’s a “hope and belief” that Oladipo, who turns 31 years old next week, will return to action at some point during the 2023/24 season, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Oladipo holds a $9.45MM player option for next season, and another major knee injury essentially guaranteed that he will exercise it, as he’s highly unlikely to find any offers that lucrative in free agency.

The veteran guard appeared in 42 games (26.3 MPG) for the Heat in ’22/23, his most games played since ’17/18, when he made his first All-Star team. He averaged 10.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.4 SPG on .397/.330/.747 shooting this season.

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Jimmy Butler won’t wither under the bright lights of the postseason and Madison Square Garden like the Cavaliers did, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who refers to the Heat star as a “worthy enemy” for the Knicks in their second-round series, which begins Sunday afternoon. “A lot of guys play the game of basketball in this league. He competes to win. That’s a different language,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler. “He’s desperate and urgent and maniacal and sometimes psychotic about the will to try to win. He’ll make everybody in the building feel it. And that’s why he is us and we are him. That’s the way we operate as well. The psychotic meets the psychotic. And it gets a little bit whatever.”
The Cavaliers, Kevin Love‘s former team, were eliminated by New York on the same night the Heat defeated the top-seeded Bucks to advance, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Love reached a buyout with the Cavs after his role was reduced, and Cleveland’s bench struggled once again in Game 5 just as Love had his best game of the Bucks series, Jackson adds. Love is understandably focused on his current club. “We’re resilient,” Love said. “We have guys that do a lot of stuff that may or may not show up in the stat sheet but we’re all about winning. We all bring the ego that got us here but for the betterment of the team.”
Bam Adebayo‘s left hamstring strain is improving, Spoelstra told reporters, including Jackson (subscriber link). “He just got done with a workout,” Spoelstra said Friday. “He feels much better.” Adebayo was hampered by the injury throughout the five-game series versus Milwaukee, though he was able to play in every game.
Point guard Kyle Lowry was moved to a reserve role after dealing with a knee injury, and Spoelstra said the Heat decided to stick with Gabe Vincent in the starting lineup for “stability and consistency,” writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He has been great about it,” Spoelstra said of Lowry coming off the bench. “He is all about winning right now. He’s playing a massive role with us right now. But that’s why he is who he is. If you’re all about winning, you’ll sacrifice if you need to, take on a little bit of a different role, if you need to, if it makes sense for winning. You can always look at it like he’s a sixth starter.”

Heat Notes: Herro, D. Robinson, Starting Lineup, Love

April 17th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat picked up a surprising win in Game 1 at Milwaukee, but they’ll have to figure out a way to finish off the series without Tyler Herro, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Herro broke two fingers on his shooting hand on Sunday and is projected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

The injury happened as Herro dove for a loose ball in the closing minutes of the first half, Chiang notes. He stayed on the court until the buzzer sounded, and the team announced at halftime that he wouldn’t return. He’s Miami’s third-leading scorer at 20.1 PPG and one of its best three-point shooters at 37.8%.

“You can’t fully make up what Tyler has been for our team all year long,” Jimmy Butler said. “But guys got to step up, including myself, including Bam (Adebayo) and whoever (coach Erik Spoelstra) calls upon to do an offensive assignment, a defensive assignment, to bring some energy, to dive on the floor, get a loose ball or rebound. It’s like all hands on deck at all times and now more than ever.”

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Duncan Robinson started the second half in place of Herro, but he may not be the best choice for that role going forward, Chiang adds. Max Strus has already taken over a starting job, and Chiang notes that the Heat were outscored by 15.5 points per 100 possessions during the 316 minutes that Robinson and Strus played together during the regular season.
Chiang cites Victor Oladipo, Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love as other choices to replace Herro in the starting lineup. Oladipo fell out of Miami’s rotation over the last month of the regular season and didn’t play at all Sunday; Martin was replaced in the starting lineup after Love signed with the team in February; and Lowry has been effective off the bench since returning from a knee issue. Love would provide more size in the starting lineup, along with outside shooting to help make up for Herro’s absence.
Love’s transition to Miami hasn’t always been smooth, but he came through in his first playoff game with the team, Chiang states in a separate story. The veteran big man had 18 points off the bench in 23 minutes, hitting 5-of-9 shots from the field and going 4-of-7 from three-point range. “You can just never underestimate the decorated veteran experience of guys that have been proven winners, and that’s what Kevin brought us tonight,” Spoelstra said.

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