Kyle Lowry on his ‘smooth’ Heat transition, up-tempo style and connection with Bam Adebayo
Kyle Lowry has only been with the Miami Heat for two weeks of work. So far, so good.
Not only has the Heat opened the preseason with a 4-0 record for just the third time in franchise history, but the six-time All-Star point guard already looks comfortable.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” Lowry said of the transition, with the Heat idle before continuing its six-game preseason schedule on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. “I’ve got great basketball teammates and I’ve got a great coaching staff. A lot of things have been put in my hands, to where they’ve been adapting to me when I’ve had to adapt to them. Which shows great respect for what I’m able to do with my basketball skills and me also understanding what they want to do. So it’s a mutual respect type of thing.”
But Lowry admits there has been an unavoidable adjustment period after spending the past nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, noting that “everything is different” with the Heat.
“It’s a completely different organization, coach, players, coaching staff, general manager, president,” he added. “It’s just a completely different thing. One organization is one thing and another is another.”
There is one constant, though, and that’s Lowry’s innate ability to run an offense. The Heat is hoping that skill can lift a unit that finished last regular season with the 18th-best offensive rating in the NBA.
Lowry, 35, has totaled 22 assists to just six turnovers in 60 minutes of playing time this preseason, and has the Heat operating at a pace of 112.8 possessions per 48 minutes when he’s on the court after the Heat played at the NBA’s second-slowest pace last regular season at 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes.
“It’s just how I play,” Lowry said of his up-tempo style. “I’d rather go out there and figure it out. You can always adjust to slowing it down. Just kind of continue to push the pace and play. Basketball is a game of up and down. It’s taking advantage of opportunities and a lot of opportunities come in transition. So that’s one thing about it, is understand trying to keep your pace going.”
One thing Lowry has already learned is he doesn’t have to play the role of aggressive scorer in every game with the Heat. He scored just seven points on eight shots in his first two preseason games, instead contributing in other ways with nine rebounds and 17 assists.
Lowry can be the scorer if needed and has already shown that, too. In his third preseason game, Monday’s 104-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets at FTX Arena, he logged preseason highs in points (15), shots made (5), shot attempts (12), threes made (4), threes attempted (8) and minutes (26).
“It’s going to vary,” Lowry said of his role within the offense as the Heat’s starting point guard. “Game by game it’s going to call for different situations for me. I never go into a game saying I’m going to do one or two things. I’m going to go out there and adapt and adjust for whatever the situation is called for. Maybe there’s a game where I need to shoot more. Maybe there’s a game where I don’t shoot at all. I’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust no matter what the situation is.”
When asked about Lowry’s ability to make a positive impact without scoring much, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said “it shows you his versatility” because “he can be effective with his passing, with his defense, with his scoring.”
Lowry, who has played in three of the Heat’s first four exhibitions, has averaged 7.3 points, four rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals in 19.9 minutes this preseason. Miami has outscored opponents by 16 points with Lowry on the court.
“I love it. He’s in it to win it,” Heat star wing Jimmy Butler said of his close friend Lowry. “Everything that he does out there on the floor is for the final outcome. That’s just to win the game. He can impact the game in so many ways.”
Lowry, who is the godfather of Butler’s daughter, already had a strong relationship with Butler prior to joining the Heat this past summer. But Lowry has also quickly developed a connection with Miami’s other star, center Bam Adebayo.
Six of Lowry’s 22 assists this preseason have resulted in Adebayo baskets, including three dunks in transition as Lowry leverages Adebayo’s combination of athleticism and size.
“It’s easy when you got somebody like him, an All-Star, All-NBA guy, super-talented,” Lowry said of working with Adebayo. “It’s really easy for me to just go out there, put the ball somewhere and he can go get it. It’s not even about like forming a connection. It’s just understanding and respecting and knowing how good he really is. He makes himself look good and he makes me look really good.”
Adebayo even returned the favor with a give-and-go pass to find Lowry cutting to the basket for a layup during Monday’s win over the Hornets.
“He’s really smart,” Lowry said of Adebayo. “Not that I didn’t know that. But his playmaking ability is very high. When he catches that ball at the elbow, he can make some plays. When he catches the ball, he can take it and make plays and swing passes. His handle is a lot better than I thought it was. He’s a talented kid.”
Lowry’s feistiness has also already been on display. On Monday, the 6-foot, 196-pound guard drew his second charge of the preseason, was called for a technical after arguing with an official and worked to defend a 7-footer on a cross match in the paint.
“I just want to win games,” Lowry said. “If I’m going to be out there, I’m going to give it my all. I don’t go into games thinking I’m going to say this to the official. I go into a game just like, let’s go out there and play, but sometimes things happen. Conversations happen.”
More proof that Lowry fits in well with the Heat, which Adebayo said has begun calling itself “the kennel” because the team “has a lot of dogs.”
“These guys are really competitive,” Spoelstra said. “You should see what the practices are like. If we put a score up there, everybody is fighting, grappling, hitting, complaining to officials. [Assistant coaches Octavio De La Grana and Anthony Carter] were our officials for a few days, they were just getting worn out. The physicality in our practices, all of that, you’ve seen that on display.”
▪ The Heat is scheduled to debut its new City Edition uniform, which has not been released by the team yet, on Nov. 4 against the Boston Celtics at FTX Arena, according to the NBA’s LockerVision website.
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 12:42 PM.
